Star Fox Saga
by Joseph A. Genesis
Summary: Tells the tale of Star Fox 64. Part one of a four part series. Fox x Krystal, Katt x Falco, Miyu x Fay.
1. Prologue: A pig's backstabbing

Star Fox: The Saga

_My re-edited novelization of Star Fox 64, nothing else needs to be said. Fox x Krystal, Miyu x Fay, Falco x Katt_

Prologue

A pig's backstabbing

James McCloud wiped the sweat from his brow as his Protowing approached Venom. Floating at a nervously slow pace, the ships of Pigma Dengar, and Peppy Hare took their places on either side of him , "Okay, you guys know what to do right?" James asked into his communicator

Pigma's face appeared on the HUD as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes one last time, "Yep, slingshot into Venom using its own gravity field so we don't get caught by the construction crew of that base." Pigma recited boredly, as if he'd heard it a billion times already.

Peppy linked to his own communicator, letting out a grunt, "It's a shame what this bastard Andross has done to the Lylat System."

"Most notably Zoness" Pigma quipped

James rolled his eyes, "Pigma, we all know you miss the _senoritas_, but now's not to have your head in the gutter."

Pigma gave an offended 'oink' before stuttering, "W-well, you'd know what I were talking about if you weren't married. Heh, there's a reason why all the boys at the Academy called ya 'No-Life Jimbo'

Peppy however, cut the conversation short, "Might I ask why we're arguing about our relationship preferences when we're right in front of the big time? Jimbo, Pigma, stop acting like a bunch a schoolgirls. We've come to far now to start actin' juvenile and screw up"

James nodded. They had gone through Sectors Y and Z, Aquas and Zoness to make assure that they wouldn't end up in the path of the heavily guarded construction sight. ROB 64's metallic face appeared on the screen, "You are approaching Venom's field of gravity."

"Get yer boosters ready boys!" Pigma yelled, jetting off and whipping around the outside of the planet.

Peppy and James did the same. However, there was one problem

Peppy broke off into the atmosphere, James didn't.

James gave a small yelp as he zoomed through the Bolse construction, dodging beams left and right. He did a barrel roll past a crane. He nearly flew right into the barrells of several gun turrets. However, James reckoned that the swivels on them hadn't been oiled, because by the time the automated turrets started to turn around, he had avoided them. However, James would soon find that threats on the outside were the least of his problems His ship started to viabrate and whatever communication he was receiving reaked of garbled audio and a bad visual connection James banked off to his left skyrocketing through the polluted atmosphere of Venom. Another communication began as he floated down to Andross' bunker, this one as fuzzy as the first, and his log of Venom's 'points of interest kicked on all to late, as he could already see the entrance to the bunker Apparently, the gravity field had done its job, for it had gotten passed Andross' newly formed defense troop. As James counted himself extremely lucky, he noticed Peppy and Pigma were waiting for him, Peppy's ship rocking slightly, "Okay, this is the big one. All aircraft report." Lylat's most famous pilot commanded

"Peppy here, a few screws are loose but I'm okay."

"Pigma here, my G-Diffuser's acting funky and my thrusters are about to pop off."

"I'm cool you guys but I'm about to fall apart. Pigma, how are you still flyin' stable right now?"

"I just know 'bout the best parts. I AM the mechanic after all." Pigma boasted.

That was one thing that always un-nerved James about Pigma. Although the two were good friends, the fox was always suspicious of him. Perhaps it was his constant gambling in the seedier parts of Corneria that allowed Pigma access to the best ship parts, perhaps it was something else. All James knew was that his pig friend would probably do anything for the money. He had never confided in Peppy when it cames to these matters, but he knew his best friend couldn't possibly be as oblivious as he acted when it came to Pigma's inconsistancies

"Point taken. James, what do you want to do? Pack up and go home, or nail Andross here and now?" Peppy asked

"We've got the best ships in Lylat right now. The Cornerian 27th wouldn't survive the gravity slingshots with the Aerowings. Let's go!" James ordered as all three shot into the underground room that was Andross' lair.

"It's quiet, too quiet." Peppy growled, his eyes narrow

"Andross wants to fight us himself." Pigma said matter-of-factly

About three fourths of the way down, the entire cave started to rumble and the genius monkey himself appeared proving Pigma's statement true, "You think you're smart do you? Not so smart to corner yourself is it you bottom feeders?" Andross roared/asked as he swated at James' Protowing as he barrel-rolled away. Then, James noticed something un-nerving, his wings were flapping. Mentally hitting himself for being so wreckless as to engage with less than repaired ships, James sighed and said "Guys, I hate to say this, but retreat, we can unload some Nova Bombs once we're out." as the entire team filled out of the room, Pigma in front, Peppy in the middle, and James bringing up the rear.

Andross swated at James but he pulled forward just inches. Andross then shot a beam from his index finger but James swerved to his left, "Dengar, FINISH THEM OFF!" Andross roared

James couldn't help but let out a groan, "Dammit, I hate being right. Look after Fox would ya Pep?"

"J-james…..NO!" Peppy cried

Peppy's body stayed frozen in a mind-numbing shock. His brain couldn't quite process what was happening, despite the cold and calculating Pigma Dengar purposefully making this process insufferably long, even going as far as to recline leisurely in his seat.

"By the way, make sure you kick his ass on the way out. " James snarled, his voice sounding uncharacteristicly defeated

"Jim…."

"There isn't any time for this crap right now. Tell the family I loved them." James said, turning his attention back to Pigma, "Let's go you smelly bastards!" he roared

Despite James' challenge, the normally crafty vulpine made no attempt to move. Pigma pulled behind James, easily blowing off both his wings and blocking the exit. James let out a pained howl

_How do I get myself into this shit? Didn't get to tell Vix that I loved her _

Andross swiftly grabbed James' crippled ship sinking back into the abyss.

Peppy Hare fought tears at that moment, "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Peppy screamed, flying full speed at Pigma. The two Protowings collided, Peppy's left wing was snapped off by the small exit hole and his right snapped off after scraping the underside of Pigma's ship. Both ships tore out of the exit, Pigma's spiraling down to the surface in a cloud of smoke. Somehow, Peppy's Protowing was still able to fly, but was obviously every ounce of its power to do it considering it had lost both . Suddenly, his transmission system came to life. It was Pigma Dengar, looking as relaxed as ever.

"You should count your blessings Hare. If I weren't in this piece-of-crap Cornerian Fighter, I woulda taken you down."

"Trust me Dengar, if the Venomian Forces weren't on the way, I'd fucking kill you." Peppy said, letting the hatred ooze from his words.

"I'll give you credit where credit is due Hare, it looks like you ain't that retarded after all. Now if you'll excuse me Hare, I've got a date with some dinero. Smell ya later."

Peppy Hare cringed at his former teammate's last words. That was Pigma's catchphrase, as it were, and it annoyed the hell out of him whenever the pig used it. The last glimpse Peppy would get of the planet before breaking into the atmosphere was Pigma casually walking away from his Protowing as if nothing had occured

_I'll get you, you fat bastard, I'll get you_

Peppy, saw Macbeth floating in the distance and sighed

"Whelp, it looks like I've earned myself two Macbeth Ales, for you and my both Jimmy."

, Peppy Hare docked on Macbeth soon afterwords, taking his time at a port-side bar. As much as he wished he could down the bartender's entire stockpile of alcoholic beverages, he knew he couldn't bide his time for very long. A downed Cornerian fighter which had entered Macbeth from Venom was sure to catch the attention of unwanted eyes. So, with that in mind, he took his ship (which had literally gotten zero attention from the port mechanic, and rightfully so) and headed home.

Several hours later, he entered the atmosphere of Corneria. While the security ship patrolling the outer portion of Corneria's orbit offered him coordinates to the nearest hanger, he didn't take it. Instead, he flew directly to a Cornerian suburb. There were two people who had to know what went on tonight.

Peppy landed his ship in their driveway as neatly as he could. This caused the lights in the neighboring houses to flicker and drowsy-sounding curse words to be thrown in his direction, but the rabbit didn't care. He hoped down from the cockpit and marched up to the house with a purpose. He knocked on the door, trying to compose his wits as he did. He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as the door creaked open. The woman was a fox, who had to be in her late twenties. She wore a pink, form-fitting nightgown and pink fuzzy slippers. She gave a yawn before it finally dawned on her exactly who was at the door.

"Peppy?" she asked, like a child who was about to be scolded

"Vix listen…"

"Where's James? A-and Pigma?"

Peppy bit his lip.

"Listen, I'm not sure how much you're even supposed to know, but you deserve the right to…."

"Know what?" Vixy demanded

Then, it finally set in. Her face twisted into something between shock and pain.

"No…"

Peppy felt the tears coming on.

_Sorry I let ya down Jimbo_

"Vixy, we were at Venom and….Pigma….he…"

"Please don't tell me he…"

"He shot him down."

A pained howl

While the howl of the now anguished Vixy R. McCloud shouldn't have come as a shock to the hare, it did, and he flinched. Tears started to flood down both their cheeks like leaking faucets. The two embraced.

"What am I going to do?"

"We'll get you straightened out with the Widows Fund department."

"What am I going to do?" she asked again, clearly in a sort of delirium

The fact that Peppy couldn't give Vixy a straight answer wretched his heart every time Peppy heard her ask that faithful question.

And then, her knees gave out.

This almost took the hare down with her, "Vix!" she asked

No answer

_Shit, she's out_

Picked her up as best he could, Pepper laid down the grieving, unconcious widow on the couch. Then, he made his way to the room of James and Vixy's only son, Fox. He opened the door, and there was Fox. His 12 year old body seemed frozen to that spot, in shock. His tear-matted cheek fur and the fire in his eyes were good indications that he had heard it all.

"So, Daddy isn't coming home?" Fox asked,

Peppy shook his head, "Fraid not my boy."

Instead of the crying Peppy had expected from the pre-teen, the fire in his eyes only seemed to increase as if he had no more tears left.

"Peppy...we..."

Even though Peppy knew that Fox was formulating a plan in his mind, he couldn't encourage a young boy running on pure hatred, so he remained firm.

"Fox, get to bed. You don't have to go to sleep, but at least get in bed, we'll talk about everything in the morning."

The young fox turned on his heel, and walked a few lifeless steps to his bed, and collapsed. Peppy decided to leave the room at the moment.

_I haven't got the slightest doubt Fox'll make ya proud Jimbo._

(AN: If anybody wants to know, this ENTIRE Fanfic is dedicated to and inspired by Slappy McCracken, the guy who got me started around here . Everybody's owned by the Big N thusfar, Ocs don't come until later.A Protowing, is a ship design is identical to that of the Arwings featured in the original Star Fox game. Thank you for reading)


	2. Chapter 1: Reinforcements on Katina

Chapter 1

Reinforcements on Katina Part 1

An 18 year old Fox awoke on a cold sweat, "That damned dream." Fox muttered under his breath.

Ever since the information on "The Case of James McCloud" had been released on Fox's 18th birthday nearly three months ago, Fox McCloud had been plagued by a nightmare involving his father's death. The combination of Peppy's testimony on the incident and the com history during their attack on Venom that was released painted a very unpleasant and detailed picture on what had happened.

After the report had been released, Andross went on the public record, once again declaring war on Corneria, and how insulting it was that Corneria invaded his home of Venom. The young politicians laughed off Andross, believing Andross was all talk and no action. However, the inner-circles of the older members of the Lylatian Order knew just what Andross was capable of, one of the most iconic supporters of an invasion of Venom being the young General Jack Pepper, who still could not live down the "mistake" of sending mercenaries to do recon on Venom

McCloud sat up, slipped on his usual flight jacket, and ran to the main room of their "less than livable" rental home.

"Damn it! I hate it when my cereal gets water ribbit in it!" Slippy Toad, the mechanic of the team shouted.

"Yeah Gramps, don't we at least have enough to patch up the holes in the main room? I mean, I've lived in worse but…" Falco Lombardi began

"Now now you guys, we just haven't found a job in a while, and all the money we DO get from our day jobs goes into repair for the Protowing Walkers." Peppy announced

"Yeah you guys, just be glad we have PWs at all. After all, it was my amazing poker-playing skills that got us the birds anyway." Fox said

"Could you please turn that freaking radio off? It's driving me insane!" Falco yelled gesturing to the radio, which hadn't done anything except make static noises all morning.

Just as Peppy went to turn off the radio, the radio crackled, "This just in, Katina's freedom in question again. The Venomian Dictator Andross has ordered another move on Katina within 24 hours. A report from General Jack Pepper states and I quote, "Katina's defense forces are running low. People of Katina, this might be our final stand."

Katinan General Cornelius Henry was unavailable for comment."

The team looked at each other, a smile crossing all four faces, "Slippy, I want those PWs at 100 percent by tomorrow, Peppy, you and I will listen to the military frequency and devise a strategy. Falco, you go around town and see what you can gather on where they might be landing and other pre-mission information."

Without a word, the team went to their jobs

**3 hours later**

Slippy, Peppy, and Fox were all talking strategy when Falco burst through the door, dusty and feathers ruffled

"What did you find out?" Fox asked

"Apparently, they're attacking a base just smack dab in the middle of The Badlands to make an example of Katina's poor security. The Free Lylat Air Force will be there, so it shouldn't be much of the problem."

Fox stood up, "Yeah, but how many Air Force crusiers'll be there? Huh?"

Falco hung his head, "Look, I'm no freaking math professor, but all I know is, we're outnumbered. Your modifications better hold up Slip-up, or we're dead."

Peppy interrupted the group before Slippy could launch into a variation of his "pro-technology" speech, "Look, the Protowings by themselves ain't gonna hold up. We need to go back to basics, or else they're going to take out that base out like it's nothing. And then, they'll just swoop right into Barricade Town, Creator knows those barrack goons will be caught off guard, and then…"

"Imperial City." All four teammates said in unison

Fox closed his eyes in thought. The Badlands would be more crucial most likely, considering that was about 85% of Katina. Then if that fell, everything else would be an easy take for Venom, considering Barricade Town was full of rookie National Guard service-men and those wounded in battle. Then, the invasion of Imperial City would kill off most of Katina's civilian population, "Alright, you guys, Peppy and I picked up on the Air Force's strategy and it's the most old school strategy I've ever heard. Just kill or be killed, so let's get as much Venomian scum as we can!" Fox proclaimed

"How do we even know that Venom's making a push for Katina?" Slippy asked stupidly, "Like, does Andross really want this dustbowl?"

Peppy's rabbit ears twitched at both Slippy's squeaky voice and the stupidity of his questions. Slippy was as bright as one could be, but sometimes, he just spoke whatever thought came to his head, one of his more annoying qualities, "Andross is…true to his word." Peppy mumbled, "Andross is the type of guy who'll take something from you just so you don't have it. He's hell-bent on taking every planet in the system, regardless if it's actually of worth to him, that's why we're defendin Katina." Peppy continued, his annoyed tone becoming more obvious as the volume of his voice picked up going back to the main room.

Fox sighed at the toad's foolish remark, "Slippy, how are the PWs?" he asked

Slippy gave a sigh of his own, somewhat mocking Fox, seemingly oblivious to the tension he had inadvertently caused, "It's all good Fox. The PWs are ready for tomorrow."

"Good to hear." Fox said, looking at another picture of James that belonged to Peppy,

Falco, who had been unusually silent this whole time, spoke up, "Okay, I'm just gonna say it, cuz everybody's thinking it, how do we put up with this retarded tadpole?" Falco asked

"HEY!" Slippy squealed

"Guys, guys, settle down. Don't forget why we banded together…." Fox began

"To avenge your old man." Falco interrupted

"Not so much that, but to engage in a civil service, so that good Cornerian people don't lose their lives when some maniac traitor decides he wants to take down the Lylatian Way. Falco, Slippy, the reason why you guys are on this team right now is because I knew you wouldn't lose sight of this, no matter how big we get."

Slippy cheered, "Righto Fox," but Falco wasn't so convinced

"Yeah yeah, I love the Lylatian Way as much as you do, but seriously….us, get big? Heh, in your dreams." the blue falcon gave a dismissive wave of his wing as he walked off towards his room.

"Like my Dad always said, dream big boys, dream big." Fox shouted in retort

"Your old man was as crazy as Peppy is." Falco shouted jokingly

With a satisfied smirk Slippy ran back to his room, eager to get to sleep. Meanwhile, Fox chuckled some, shaking his head. He looked at the dresser he was standing next to. Placed on it was one of his favorite pictures. It was a picture of the old Star Fox team standing in front of The Great Fox (Pigma's image had had a swiggly mustache and devil horns drawn on it, courtesy of Falco and Peppy respectively.) The one thing that separated this photo from every other team picture was that, on James' shoulders was a young Fox McCloud, probably eleven at the time.

"Dad," Fox said, "I know we'll achieve our dreams and eliminate Andross personally. You taught me to never give up, and that's what I'll do, all to make you proud Pops." Fox finished, wiping some tears from his eyes as he to walked to his room. All four pilots knew the Venomian Fleet would more than likely strike in the early morning hours, so they all needed to be well-rested if this assault were to go well. Little did they know, it would change their lives forever.

(AN: Now if you want to know what the Protowing Walkers look like, they look similar to the Protowings except their wings fold down and serve as "legs")


	3. Chapter 2: Reinforcements on Katina II

Chapter 2

Reinforcements on Katina Part II

Four separate alarm clocks went off in the isolated Katinian rental home. It was midnight. Each man sleeply got up, got ready, and jumped into their Protowing walkers, "All crafts report in!" Fox ordered

"Falco here General McCloud." the cocky avian snorted

"Peppy here. Everything is OK."

"This is Slippy. The base's coordinates have been programmed into everyone's auto-pilot."

The four jetted out of the garage their makeshift base, heading for the badlands, "This is Fox, switch to autopilot."

The team did so with a whir of the ships' navigation computers. Falco had drifted off to sleep already, Slippy was pressing buttons, probably setting up his "shield-reading thing" as Falco called it, and Peppy was reading an old book. Fox however, was silent, and looked out at the desert. That's all Katina had to offer, no animals for the exception of the occasional scorpion, no plants, just desert.

The Badlands struck Fox McCloud as an inappropriate name for the space the four crusiers glided through, for it implied there was more than one land. The Badlands seemed to stretch on forever. How Lylatians had been able to settle on the planet was beyond Fox's imagination.

_Exploration _Fox thought

He toyed with the word for a while. That was why he liked flying so much, the infinite freedom it provided, and to Fox McCloud, being on a team of mercenaries was even more exciting.

_Exciting…_ Fox let the word roll in his mind as his mind brought him back to his much younger years….

_"Being on a mercenary team must be so exciting eh Dad?" a six year old Fox McCloud asked his father, who had just returned from an escort mission on Zoness, and was now sitting at the breakfast table with his only son._

_ "Yeah" James said. Even though he hadn't looked up from the newspaper he was reading, one could tell he was amused by Fox's antics._

_ "You're so cool dad, killing all the bad guys, like…" Fox stopped mid-sentence to stand up in his chair, making laser noises as he shot off an imaginary gun._

_ "Fox, settle down, your father's trying to read." said Vixy, not looking up from the three omlettes she was tending to._

_ "No Vix, it's fine." James said cooly, sounding as though he were trying to suppress laughter,_

_ "I wanna be just like you when I grow up!" Fox said, his tone almost oozing with vigor._

_ "You can be whatever you want to be in life, you don't really have to be like me." James explained_

_ "Oh Dad, but I do, I REALLLLY DO!" Fox exclaimed_

_ "Well, if you do decide to take after your old man's line of work, you have to promise me you'll only take missions that seem morally right."_

_ "What kind of right?" asked the young kit, confused_

_ "You'll figure it out when you're older."_

_ Fox frowned, he hated when his father used that line. But, he didn't dwell on it for to long, for another thought lingered in his head, "Dad?"_

_ "Yeah son?" James asked_

_ "Why do you call yourself an old man?"_

_ Vixy snorted with laughter from behind them. James smirked, he thought it was the most adorable thing in the world when she did that, "Well Fox I am old. That's why you've gotta enjoy every second of your life, cuz before you know it, you'll be old and wrinkly like me." James explained, smiling at that last bit._

_ Father and son had a good laugh over that, before Vixy called, "Breakfast is ready boys!"_

Suddenly, a slightly agitated voice brought him back to reality, "Ey, McCloud, we're comin up on the base."

It was Falco.

Fox rolled his eyes. He was rather enjoying the trip down memory lane. All the same though, he realized that he had a job to do, seeing the base on the horizon was a cold reminder of that,

"This is Fox, switching off autopilot now." Fox said, flipping a switch as a failing whir was heard in all four ships. They hit the boosters, shooting off into the distance. The Katinian Air Force was buzzing around Badlands Base like wasps, "Sweep for bombs, any sort of spy gear you can find." a gruff voice was heard over the com.

"But sir, we don't know if there was an even unauthorized entry into the base, why are we looking for spy gear sir?" asked a meek sounding soldier

"I think ya answered your own question you miserable maggot! Now get to work soldier!"

"Y-y-y-yes sir." said the meek soldier

Fox, Falco, and Slippy all cringed, while Peppy could be heard laughing heartily. All four men recognized that voice. When Fox, Falco, and Slippy entered the Academy as young hopefuls, this particular drill sargent immediately shot down the cadet's dillusions of grandeur, earning him the hatred of almost all the cadets in that graduating class. For Peppy, it was a voice that brought back memories of years of friendship

"Well well well if it isn't Sargent Steve Wisp." Falco chortled

"Lombardi? Aw boy this should a fun one/" The gruff voice groaned

"Hey, lay off 'em teach! What're you doing here Lombardi?" Another voice asked jestingly.

"Bill Grey? How's it been? We're here to help!" Fox proclaimed

"Fox? You're here too? And you picked up the Star Fox reigns I see." Bill said approvingly

"He isn't the only one Bill." Slippy cut in

"Well I'll be, The Slippery One himself." Bill mused,

"Hey! I thought we agreed not to use that nickname after the Academy!" Slippy shouted angrily

"Oh sweet Creator, it's the Three Amigos. And lookie here, they're even wearing old man James' colors. Well guys, the fact that you've got a famous bloodline doesn't change the fact that this zone is for military only. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to…."

"Is that any way to treat a friend's team after you owe him for….the accident?" Peppy cut in in an uncharacteristicly mysterious voice.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Wisp said, "Alright, but if you goons screw up, it's on my head, so watch your asses out there."

"We ain't as green as we were at The Academy" Falco quipped

"Well, let's hope to hell not." Wisp snapped

"Yeah, those Venomian's will NOT know what hit them with the Star Fox Team on the job!" Slippy shouted

Wisp let forth a deep, throaty growl, "Naïve little…If it weren't for Hare being here, I'd chase you money hungry youngsters off of the field." Wisp proclaimed

"N-n-no time for that sir." Bill wimpered

A tan colored carrier with hangers that were jutted outward and protected by metal "pincers" trudged through the air, gunning right for the base, "Is that…?" Slippy began

"The Sand Crab." Peppy finished

"The what?" asked an annoyed Falco.

" The Sandcrab was one of Andross' first designs as head aerodynamics scientist. The hangars shoot out the ships that occupy it, allowing for maximum velocity when entering the battle field. Also, when stocked with missles, it can pack one heck of a punch."

Almost as if to demostrate what Slippy was explaining a single ship shot out of the left hanger, shooting right for Sargent Wisp. Fox shot out in front of him and blasted the ship to kingdom come, "Wow…thanks." Wisp said shooting another one that had shot out of the right hangar, "Maybe you maggots aren't so useless after all." Wisp said with a smirk, before his HUD shot cut, a

"Let's go for The Sandcrab guys." Fox said to his team, but Wisp and several other Katinian ships blocked their path.

"Are you bat-shit crazy? Did you just SEE that ship? It shot out of the hanger at at least 90 miles per hour. If we tried to go after The Sand Crab, it'd just turn into a kamikaze skirmish." Wisp yelled

"I'm afraid he's right Fox. Although, I do think that the Sandcrab will run out of ships eventually. That's when we go after it."

"Good idea Hare." Wisp said, cutting over to another private frequency, most likely relaying the plan he had just received.

"The time for play has ended. Prepare to be ended" a foreign sounding warthog yelled as he appeared on their HUD.

With that, what seemed like an endless stream of ships exploded out of the two hangers, "We've got company, repeat we have company!" Wisp yelled, taking down about five ships on his own and barrel rolling to avoid colliding with yet another ship that'd been launched.

"Just how I like it!" Falco yelled as a he unloaded plasma into an unlucky ship that had just been launched

Fox smirked and hit his boosters taking out several ships as he went. As a saftey precaution, the boosters shut down automatically after a few seconds. This gave a Venomian the oppurtunity to pull behind Fox and unloaded a few blasts at Fox but not before Peppy appeared and shot at the side of the ship causing it to explode. A ship took notice of this and flew above Peppy, swooping down and making for the kill…then the ships thrusters exploded.

"Well I'll be damned, that bastard Andross is giving us his worst ships, and we're still getting pounded!" Wisp yelled, flying through an explosion which evaporated the Katinian ship in front of him.

"R-ribbit, my G-Diffuser's over heated!" Slippy yelled as the inards of the cockpit flashed red.

"I'll keep these idiots off your tail Slip!" Bill explained cutting three ships away from Slippy, looping and taking out two of the three ships.

"Just like at the Academy." Slippy laughed

Wisp scoffed as he took down another one, "Hare, you willingly joined these goof-offs?"

Peppy chuckled, "Sure, but they're MY goof-offs." Peppy said taking down two more, "And besides, you owe me a few from when _we _were just a couple of young punks in the Academy, expecially….the accident."

There was an awkward silence before Wisp begrudgingly admitted, "That I do."

Falco took down the last one, "How many've we lost Grey?" Wisp asked

"My report shows 19."

"Damn it, he got almost half of our guys" Wisp stated as The Sand Crab entered the battlefield for the first time,

"Your tomfoolery annoys me. I haven't the time to play with amateurs." the warthog boomed, opening the hanger one more time firing a volley of lasers.

Falco dodged and shot at the hull, a wasted attempt as the lasers bounced away, "Ah ha ha! You cannot defeat me!" the warthog yelled

Peppy thought for a moment, "Falco, get inside those hangers and blow up the laser cannons. Slippy and Fox, draw his fire." Peppy ordered

"Crazy old fool." Falco muttered as he went off to do his duty

Fox locked on to the crusiers nose and shot a blast that exploded into a bright green color. Though the blast did no physical damage, Fox had distracted the pilot long enough for Falco to get in undetected. Slippy wildly barrel rolled and summersaulted, "What are you doing you idiot?" the warthog asked as the left turret went limp. The Protowing Walker hopped out of the turret, the wings awkwardly causing the body to rock back and forth as the triangular wings acted as legs. Fox fired a Nova Bomb into the non-functioning turret which destroyed the turret and about half of the hull. The warthog's face reappeared, control panels smoking around him, "I will….not...LOOOOOSE!" he yelled as his HUD picture went fuzzy, and then blank.

The fire crawled up the body of the ship, gaping into the thrusters of the ship, causing it to ignite the gasoline and explode in a brilliant ball of fire, "Holy Creator…" Sargent Wisp whispered in awe, "You guys, I'm going to put in a good word for you. Looks like you hoodlums aren't so bad after all. MOVE OUT!" Wisp yelled

"Take care Star Fox." Bill saluted breaking off from the Star Fox Team.

All four team members had ear to ear smiles crossing their faces, "S-so Fox….w-what do you want to do?" Peppy asked

"LET'S FREAKING PARTY!" Falco bellowed doing numerous celeberatory barrel-rolls.

Fox chuckled, "I do believe a celebration is in order, later tonight. It's one in the morning, let's sleep." He yawned boosting away, his team following.

A gorilla wearing a white hooded jacket watched in the distance. He flipped open a wrist communicator. General Pepper's face appeared followed by General Henry's, the two sharing a spit-screen, "Sirs, I think these are the guys you want to see." He said with a Titanian (or Arabic) accent forwarding the footage he had recorded

Henry, a rather big bull, stared in awe as Pepper, smirked, taking a puff of his cigar, " Silver, I want you to track down all the records you can and who has ownership on those Protowing Walkers!" Pepper ordered

Henry grinned, "I'll file the arrest warrant right away."

Pepper coughed, "Not exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking more of like a…..friendly invitation to Coneria City…"

(AN: I decided to add a little more depth to Wisp's character in later chapters)


	4. Chapter 3: On board

Chapter 3

On board

Fox awoke with a stretch. For the first time since the team banded together, Fox had slept well. His apparent payday had fueled his dreams, among other "guy-like" things . He was awoken rather rudely by Falco barging in the room, causing Fox to become fully aware of the fact that the radio was on full blast, "In other news a local biker gang was arrested for questioning for supposedly stealing secret military aircraft. The Protowing Walkers, or PWs as they're called, were part of a secret defense program but the idea was canned because of flaws in the design." The female news reporter was saying.

"I got em from my cousin I'm tellin' ya." One of the bikers was saying

"Hey, watch the hair." Another was saying

"Hmph." Was all that was heard from the third

Suddenly, the radio cut away, and the phone rang. Peppy, who had been trying to reawake Slippy from a shocked trance, picked it up, "Hello?" Peppy asked

"Step outside now. All four of you are under arrest!" the voice barked

Fox's ears perked, "Arrest? Dang, what a person has to do to make money around here…?" Fox began

"You're preaching to the choir Foxie." Falco said rising up and coming out with his paws up as the others did the same.

Fox's eyes widened. Nearly a dozen soldiers had invaded the perimeter, six of them holding out guns, the other six examining the PWs, most of them trying to climb into Slippy's. Fox could see General Henry, an evil grin set across his face, "Don't worry McCloud, we aren't going to bite, unless you do." Henry growled

"We have no intention of doing that sir. We had no idea the PWs were stolen, we won them in a poker game!" Peppy explained in an almost pleading voice.

In response to the older man's begging, Henry let out a booming, hardy laugh, "If I had a nickle I heard that everytime from high-grade scumbags like you I'd be richer than Richard Phoenix himself."

_Now there's a name I didn't want to hear again _Fox thought as the rest of the team shot him concerned looks, as they too were familiar with that name, and more importantly, what it meant to Fox.

General Henry knew he'd struck a nerve within the four mercenaries somehow, and decided to role with it, "Now, as much as I'd like to arrest you slapnuts right here and now for stealing, Pepper apparently sees potential in ya, and wants you to work for us."

"Oh no, no no no! We ain't your puppets, we're mercs." Falco explained

"Shut up before I skin you alive _merc_." Henry yelled putting extra hate on the word merc.

"M-my dad…" Slippy quivered

Henry let forth a huge, booming laugh, "Beltino Toad pro-created? HAHAHAHA! I should've known. Only he could breed a useless hoodlum like you, who could only function around other hoodlums with useless fathers."

Falco and Fox looked at each other and nodded, ready to double-team General Henry. However, one glare from Peppy de-railed that train of thought _I'll get him later, regardless of what the old man thinks _Falco snarled inwardly

Meanwhile, one of the soldiers jogged up to Henry holding something in his hand, "Hey, check this out sir!" he yelled eagerly snapping a salute

Henry took the black microchip from him and looked up at his underling, "Where did you get this…?"

Slippy cleared his throat, "From my ship General. It's forcefield analyzer sir. It can allow you to see how much shield energy is left in a flagship." Slippy said, smirking confidently, "Got the design from my dear old dad. Not your average hoodlum could build something like that."

Henry blinked and grabbed a radio, "They're cooperating. Bring it around." the bull ordered, although he seemed to do so begrudgingly

With that, a vehicle that looked like a black armored van on treads came from around the rental home, "How could we not have noticed that before?" Falco muttered before Henry motioned the team in.

As if on cue, Henry stepped into the driver's seat, Fox's team sitting in the back. The dozen soldiers formed up in front of the vehicle in two even lines, "MARCH!" Henry yelled as the troop started to move.

A few moments passed, and Fox decided to speak up, "I'm Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox Team."

"How do you do?" Henry greeted in an extremely rude manner.

"What exactly do you need us for General?" Peppy asked

"It's simple. We're attempting an all out onslaught on Venom and the planets Andross has claimed. We want you guys ahead of us, to make our job a little easier."

"Shouldn't we have taken the Walkers with us?" Falco wondered aloud

Henry let out a booming laugh, nearly hitting his head on the steering console in the process, "Y-you really think those pieces of crap are the best we have? In fact, we've got few brand new jets we've been saving just for you."

"Not that I don't trust you or anything General, but has this been cleared with the Council?" Fox asked the general in a leaderly tone

Henry scoffed, "Hell no! The Council has no power over these matters. It was Pepper's decision and Pepper's decision alone."

"But…"

"The Council don't know shit kid. They're to busy in their own little bubble in The Chambers to care about the problems of the working man. But Pepper and me, much as I may hate that damned dirty dog, are both working men, and we know how to get things done. You'll be taking orders from Pepper or me. Do you understand, maggots?"

Everyone agreed, except for Falco.

"Call me a maggot again and I'm done."

"Oh, like we need a punk like you?" Henry yelled, "And if you do decide to walk on me, your record shows that I could bust you on enough federal charges to put you in a labor camp on Meteo until you expire. So, are you sure you want to walk?"

"Federal?" Fox, Peppy, and Slippy all gasped at the same time.

There was no doubt that Falco Lombardi had a regretable past, the three knew that. Falco himself had referenced that he had lead a gang, but had kept the details secret. No one had ever assumed it was anything as serious as the Katinian General was saying.

"For the sake of keeping my past in the past, I'll stay" mumbled a defeated Falco

No one said anything for the rest of the ride.

For about the next half hour, no conversation was made. Suddenly, the vehicle came to a halt. All four men awoke with a start. They soon realized they were at a Spaceport! The port itself however, looked old an abandoned with a "Do Not Enter, Condemned" sign at the front door

"Just go through the gate on your left and the shuttle will take you to Corneria. The, guards at the doors will take you to Pepper's office."

The team eagerly hopped out. As Fox stepped through the gate, he sighed. Something told him that this was the job that would put him in the place he wanted to be…


	5. Chapter 4: Stepping up

Chapter 4

Stepping up

Through the marvelous improvement in technology, an average passenger transport ship such at the one the Star Fox team was on could make it from Katina to Corneria in a few minutes. However, the Meteo Asteroid Field was occupied by Venom so that meant either go through hostile territory or go through the infamous magnetic field of Sector Y, neither of which were very quick routes. Due to this delay, the trip took about half an hour. By this time, it was mid-afternoon and Solar was making its rays felt, something that Fox noticed as soon as he and his team were rushed to the limosuine that would take them to Corneria's Army HQ, "Hot out here isn't it?"

"How can you guys complain? This weather is heaven." Slippy sighed, reclining leisurely

"Yeah Fox, how can you even complain about the weather when we spent three months in Katina?" Peppy asked in mock surprise

"People like me are made for the winter moreso, that's all." Fox argured

The argument went on until the limo came to stop. The group went to the door and crossed the lobby.

"How may I help you?" The pretty vulpine receptionist asked

"We are the Star Fox Team. Could you direct us to General Pepper?"

The woman looked around as if she was hiding something, "The top floor. General Pepper's been expecting you cutie." she informed the team in a hushed tone , giggling some when Fox blushed.

Falco nearly dragged Fox to the elevator as Slippy rolled his eyes, "Why MUST the females come gravitating towards us?" Slippy groaned

"It's not really that bad if you can snag some." Falco grinned

"Trust me Falco, it gets to a point in life when the girls that admire you don't act all giddy around ya, so enjoy the bombardment of attention while it lasts" Peppy lectured

"I would be more inclined to believe you if all your admirers weren't in nursing homes." Falco quipped causing a death glare from Peppy and laughter from the rest.

With a light 'ding' sound, the elevator opened. An old hound dog in a General's uniform grabbed Peppy and shook his hand, " A pleasure to see you again, ."

"Same to you General Pepper."

The younger three team members could sense the tension between the two, and they all knew exactly why. They had been friends during their tenure in the Academy together, but for political reasons, after the failed recon of Venom, Pepper was ordered to denounce his involvement with The Star Fox Team, and to publicly express "disapproval" of the results of the mission. Hare and Pepper got into a heated argument afterwords, Peppy feeling betrayed by his long time friend.

"Actually, Fox is now leading the team." Peppy said motioning to McCloud

Pepper's demeanor changed immediately, from a dark, professional tone to a jovial one. When it came to James McCloud, Pepper had almost unending faith in mercenaries and in the man himself , as the two had also been friends during their days at the Academy.

"Taking after your old man eh? Walk with me talk with me." Pepper said striding down the long hallway that followed, "I trust that General Henry filled you in on your objective?"

Fox grinned at the use of the word 'objective.' For some reason, it made him feel important again, "Yeah, liberate Lylat right?" Fox said, cringing at his choice of words.

Peppy Hare's ears folded down. He was already shooting his mouth off! The words that came out of the General's mouth were the exact opposite of what he thought he would say, "I like that attitude. Although that stick in the mud Henry insists on treating you boys like a cleanup crew, I really do think that with the combination of your skills and my best ships, we could make this happen." Pepper finished

By this point, they had reached the end of the hallway. Pepper pushed open the double doors in front of them bounding over a desk and grabbing a piece of paper, nearly shoving it at Fox, "Before I can show you any information regarding this mission, I'm going to know that I have the entire team's commitment. Sign here." Pepper said

Fox read over the contract. About three pages in, Fox's heart nearly skipped a beat, "A team of 12!"

Peppy snatched the contract and read it over, "Where'd you get 12?" he asked the General astonished.

"The other eight already signed on. I didn't want to make the same mistake we made last time, by investing to much in hires made by the mercenaries."

"So are you saying you don't trust us?" Falco snapped

Pepper's eyes narrowed in an angry expression, but suddenly, his expression turned sympathetic, "Look, until you and your team can provide sufficient results, the Council has demanded you be under a close watch."

Peppy slammed his fist on the table at which they sat, "That's a whole load of crap Jack, and you know it. Doesn't our friendship mean anything? Can't you trust the son of one of your best friends, the son of a researcher here in the Cornerian Army, and, most of all, me?"

Pepper stood up, suddenly fuming mad. He marched over to Peppy Hare and glared at him. Pepper was about six inches taller than Peppy, and the look in his eyes would've caused any normal grown man to urinate himself in fear. However, Peppy remained calm.

"Look, I'll tell you what I told you ten years ago, there's a difference between personal affairs, and what those stubborn old goons in The Chamber want. Do you have any idea what it took to convince them to give me another shot? Do you have any idea how much ass-kissing and begging I had to do not to be terminated from my position? Do you have any idea how much talking it took to let me essentially set myself up for the same….damned….mistake?"

Pepper lashed out, slamming his fist into the table. He then began to shake his bruised fist at Peppy

"The answer is NO! NO you don't have any idea! Henry likes to prance around, pretending like we're some rogue limb attached to the political machine. But we're not. We're not."

There was an eerie silence in the room, as Pepper exhaled, walking back to his seat.

"Look, if you love freedom, apple pie, and the Lylatian Way as much as I do, you'll keep quiet, obey the orders I give you, and be grateful that I'm giving you as much freedom as I am. The Council wanted me to send watchdogs with you, but I declined. And do you know why? Because even though I can't act like it, I trust you."

Peppy's eyes narrowed at this statement. Reluctantly, he handed Falco the contract. His keen eyes caught something else about 5 pages in,"A-A-ASSAULT BATTLECRUSIER!" Falco stammered as he went on, "Wait a minute a flagship's all fine and dandy, but what about the rest of our ships?"

"You'll be informed on that later." Pepper growled, still steamed from his earlier outburst

Falco shoved the contract to Slippy, which he began to read. His forehead wrinkled as he was reading Page 7, "What're the tank and Submarine for?" Slippy asked, a question which got many surprised expressions from the team.

"Between you and me, I decided to thrown in a few "presents" as it were. Who knows if you'll ever need 'em, at least if you do, you won't be unprepared. The Submarine was a gift from your dad. He says you're gonna need some top of the line underwater power if…"

"What do you mean price pending?" Slippy asked

Pepper laughed, "It depends on the number of ships your team shoots down as a whole at the end of the mission. After the total is caculated, it will be rounded to the nearest interval of 12, so that everyone gets an even split." the hound explained

"Well, you have me hooked." Slippy said signing the contract

"Brand new hovercar, here we come!" Falco shouted

Peppy, after muttering a short prayer, which sounded like, "Creator, watch over us" signed the contract as did Fox.

"Excellent!" Pepper exclaimed, "Now, if you could just follow me to the hangar please." he said walking down the hallway, discretely lighting a cigar as he did so.

Fox's mind was adrift due to the silence until they got to the outside of the building. Corneria City never ceased to leave Fox in awe. Most of the arcitecture was different by normal standards because most of the buildings were rather tall and had long windy fire escapes.

The team reached a dark and desolate hangar, "Gentlemen, prepare to be amazed!" Pepper said flipping a switch,

The lights turned on to reveal four ships that were mostly white in color but had blue streaks on the two fin-shaped objects that were located on either side of the single circular booster.

"Holy crap…" Fox muttered

Slippy mearly gawked as Falco said, "Could use a new paint job but…oof!" which earned him an elbow to the stomach from Peppy

"We are extremely grateful Pepper." Peppy told the amused General

Pepper nodded, his smile stretching wider "Think nothing of it." he said venturing deeper into the hangar.

Fox could see Peppy roll his eyes as he lead the team forward. Fox and Peppy both stopped in their tracks when they saw the Assault Battlecrusier, "The Great Fox." they whispered

"Wha…" Falco blabbered, eventually seeing the green and orange logo on the fin, "So this is that ship your old man left you in his will huh? He coulda been nice enough to actually make payments on the damned thing, it looks like it hasn't been refurbished in decades." Falco shouted

Fox growled at his friend "Look, for the last time, I know my dad was in debt, I know he passed it on to me, but at least he gave us something to work with."

Falco huffed as Slippy spoke up, "And, let's not forget that we have top of the line fighters. It isn't like The Great Fox will see more battletime than the Arwings, so quit complaining." the frog explained

Fox simply nodded as they stepped on to the Great Fox. Immediately afterwards, the power kicked on a shiney metalic robot wheeled into the main room, which Fox saw contained a bar in the upper-left corner and a television on the north wall, "Greetings new owners, I am ROB. Please state your names so I may add them into my protocol."

"Fox."

"Slippy."

"Peppy."

Falco thought for a moment, "Big Rod" he said fighting back laughter

"Nice try , but the late informed me of your incredibly immature jokes." ROB droaned

Falco fumed while Fox and Peppy bursted into laughter, "if I'd known a robot could've told him right, I would've bought one years ago."

"Tells you that you need to grow up a bit eh Falco?" Slippy said joining in on the laughter.

"Damn right." a feminine voice said

Every head in the room turned when a pink feline walked into the room, her paws on her hips.

"K-k-k-Katt?" Falco whispered weakly before getting slapped by Katt, which sent him staggering to his left, "Who might you be?" asked Katt

"I'm…Fox McWow…McCloud, Fox Mc_Cloud_. " Fox stuttered blushing in embarasment as Falco tripped over himself and fell to a sitting position

"Slippy ribbit T-ribbit-Toad." Slippy said backing against the wall in fear

"Peppy Hare. Thank you , for you have done what I've wanted to do for eons!" Peppy said howling with laughter

"Oh yeah, real funny Grandpa." Falco retorted, stumbling into the kitchen which was on the left of the main room, "HOW'D YOU GET IN HERE!" Falco yelled

Fox ran to see what was the matter. Bill Grey was in the kitchen unpacking boxes, "Bill? What's up man?" Fox asked shaking the Huskey's paw firmly

"When I heard you were starting up a team, I figured me and Wisp should come along."

"DRILL SARGE WISP, ON OUR TEAM?" Slippy yelled causing everyone to cover their ears, "That guy made me hibernate!" Slippy croaked

"And that was one of the most rewarding moments of my career." a gruff voice proclaimed from a hallway offset in the upper-righthand corner of the main room.

"You act like that's hard to do. Slippy's such a scaredy-toad that the slightest thing will make him wet himself." Falco said with a grin, despite the glare from Slippy

A very tall Doberman stomped up to Falco, "Lombardi, you always were a bad seed. Let's hope that, by some miracle, you've grown up since the Academy." Wisp snarled

"Wisp, don't start stuff with Falco. Same goes for you, Falco." Peppy said, stepping in between them

"I'm going to check the hangars." Fox said, wanting to get away from the arguing

With that, he ran into the hangars which was at the very front of the ship once you climbed a small set of stairs. Fox ran a mental checklist. The four Arwings were here, he assumed the pink colored ship was Katt's, the green and yellow colored PWs were Bill and Wisp's, and there were two vacant spots in the hangar. The remaining two hangars were occupied by Arwings. Fox's forehead wrinkled _Funny, there are only four of us…_he thought, taking the ramp in between the two mystery Arwings. Fox peered behind each Arwing and notices that two women were working on them, one a Lynx and the other a Spaniel, "I'm Fox McCloud, leader of the team." he introduced himself.

The two girls joined him on the ramp, "I'm Miyu." Said the Lynx

"I'm Fay." said the other girl in a perky tone that sounded exactly like Miyu's, "We're your flight instructors." They said in unison

Fox examined them closer, "You guys can't be older than 16."

"What can I say, we're like Ying and Yang. Fay's brains…"

"Aw Miyu…you're so sweet!" Fay interrupted

"…And my knowledge of ships, we make up for each other's faults."

"You two sound like quite the…" Fox was interrupted when a black-painted Venomian craft sporting a skull and crossbones symbol rocketed in to a hanger gracefully landing. Fox struck a defensive posture as a cougar dressed in what appeared to be pirate garb stepped out of the cockpit, dragging a cutlass as he walked, "Don't worry matie, alarms would've been blarin' if I had meant harm." The cougar said in an Aquasian accent (would sound Irish to a human) "I'm Piers MacFarely. You must be Captain Fox McCloud."

"Yeah…" Fox said sheepishly.

"Tell me, how many bombs does an Arwing hold?" Piers asked

"It holds nine approximately." Miyu informed him

" My Dark Comet holds 28." Piers said before walking off.

Fay beamed at that number while Miyu scoffed, "C'mon buddy, let's go rally up the troops." She said taking off causing Miyu and Fox to follow after her.

Within moments, they were in the main room, "You guys, the two ladies with me are Miyu and Fay, our flight instructors. Falco, Peppy and Slippy… come with us." Fox gestured

"Aye aye." Falco and Slippy yelled, eager to get to flying, further showing their eagerness by running to the practice field.

As Peppy scoffed and hopped after them, Fox hung back and looked down at Wisp, who hadn't moved from the couch since he left, "Wisp, I want to thank you for putting in a good word for us."

"First of all, call me Steve, I am no longer your superior. Second of all, the troops were out for you before we got to the base."

"Then who…?" Fox began

"That would be me." a Titanian accent informed him

Fox turned to see a huge Silverback Gorilla standing over him, "My name is Akeem Silver, I am your scout. I will go ahead of you via Camera Drones if need be."

General Pepper joined them, "Ah, I see you have met Akeem. He used to work for the Cornerian Army Archives department but now he worksfor you. In fact, that was why he was on hand at the battle yesterday." Pepper explained, "I believe you are needed with Fay and Miyu. I have my own duties to attend to."

Pepper began to walk away but Fox stopped him, "Pepper, what do you know about Falco's past?"

Pepper laughed, "You're seriously asking _me_ ? He's your best friend, not mine…"

Fox growled, causing the General to rear back in alarm.

"I'm not joking Pepper. General Henry alluded to something, but Falco's keep it under wraps, he always has. I'll ask again, what do you know?"

"Honestly Fox, you're asking the wrong person. I elected to turn a blind eye to all your criminal records, because frankly, I couldn't care any less about that, because I know that I can trust you and that I need you. I also know that none of you would ever betray the team. Henry however, decided to look at all your records. Everyone turned out clean except Falco and Katt. All I know is that the only reason why Henry knows any of this is because Falco's gang operated out of Katina, so getting the records was easy. The other piece of info I can give you is that Katt was selected by Henry to make Falco break and confess. In my opinion, I find this extremely unethical, but how you approach the matter as captain is entirely up to you."

" Fair enough, my only regret is that we couldn't have a more friendly conversation. See you later General."

The two saluted each other, walking in their own separate directions.

Fox ran track and field at the Academy, which made it no surprise that Fox made it down to the testing field before anyone lifted off. Fox gracefully flipped into the seat of his Arwing, "Okay you guys, to launch you just press that yellow button on your lower right." Miyu's face came over the HUD.

Fox flipped open the glass that protected the small button and pressed it. Fox was nearly burried in his seat when the ship lifted off, "YAHHHHH! I WANT OFF THIS BLASTED THING!" Peppy yelled

"Relax , it will straighten itself out eventually." Fay assured the old rabbit as rhe ship barrel-rolled, causing the wings to open, "Wow, it really looks showy when it's rolling!" Slippy observed

"Yeah, I think you're crazy." Falco retorted, obviously not seeing the blue shield the surrounded the ships when they rolled.

"They're more for protection than for show. The blue shield deflects normal laser blasts." Fay explained

"Wow, thank the Creator for Technology." Peppy breathed

Slippy smirked and through up his hands as if to say, "what did I tell you?" Fay and Miyu's faces however, remained deadly serious.

"Don't even try deflecting the lasers of anything bigger than that though. We lost test subjects that way…Anyway, see the stick on the floor there ? You use it to manually iniciate the barrel roll." Fay explained

Peppy, out of habit, smacked the stick open handed, causing the ship to roll about three rotations, "So…damned…sensitive." Peppy muttered, swallowing hard as if he was about to throw up.

"Is that the best you can do?" Falco asked mockingly executing several barrell rolls.

"Okay now, see the two buttons on the steering wheel?" Miyu said as each man looked down at the U-shaped steering wheel, "The blue button on the left shoots the laser and the red one on the right launches the Nova Bomb. Be warned though, once you shoot the bomb, all other offensive functions will experience a half second delay."

The entire team winced, knowing what could happen in just half a second, "Next, the little toggle switch right next to the launch button is the boost. It will allow you to zoom forward, but can only do so for about 45 seconds."

"Imagine what I could do with 15 seconds more boosting power…" Slippy mused

"Yeah, 15 seconds!" Falco yelled sarcasticly and negativley as Peppy rolled his eyes

Miyu giggled, "Then, the foot pedal is the brakes. You can't pull any very good movement based manuevers while in this mode."

Fox nodded and swooped down for landing, "Good job you guys." Fay commented as the team flew into the hangar.

Piers was the first one into the hangars, "Captain, we've finished moving the supplies. We have enough for our two week journey to Venom." He informed Fox

"Piers, don't call me Captain, I'm on the same level as the rest of you." Fox said with a scratch of the head.

"That's what I first said with me first crew. But you will soon find that the lives of all of us hang on your shoulders McCloud. And I gotta say, I've never felt as confident as I do now. Why, never thought I'd see the day where I'd be flying alongside a McCloud…"

Fox shot a paw up, "I'm not my father, and I'll never be as good as he was."

Piers shrugged, "That may be, but that doesn't mean you didn't learn everything you knew from him" reasoned the pirate as he slapped Fox reassuringly on the shoulder, running off with the rest of the team.

Fox McCloud had gone for a jog sometime later, "This might be the mission, that'll help us cement our legacy." he sighed looking up at Solar

Meanwhile on Venom, 12 mysterious figures gathered around the large black colored flagship Pleiades, "So, what you are saying sir, is we wait?" a voice asked in a belwildered growl.

"Yes wait! Our soul objectives are to take it to Cornerian front if things get to hot to handle." said the apparent leader, his eye gleaming in the darkness.

"Yeah. So why don't we just head for Corneria now?" asked a tall figure chugging a beer, "No way all them robot fighters are gonna be able to get the job done."

"No," said a sadistic, cool voice, this one eminating from the shadowy figure of a chameleon, "Let those pathetic dogs have their fun. Let's let them think they stand a chance."

A sudden snort caused 11 of the twelve head to rear their head in the direction of the fattest figure, "Corneria has a habit of pulling things out of their asses you'd never expect to be up there" he said dryly

"You make it sound like they have Star Fox reincarnated on their side." The leader chided with a laugh

One of the figures, a skinny one, sauntered up to the leader, throw its arms around his neck, hooking its legs around his back, pecking him lovingly on the nose.

"No matter, what, my darling can beat them."

"Yes I can love. And when I do, you'll have everything you could ever want, I swear it. If this pays off, all twelve of us…..will control the Lylat System." 

(AN: At this stage in the game I own Piers, Akeem, and Wisp)


	6. Chapter 5: The Cornerian Swarm

Chapter 5

The Cornerian Swarm

Morning set in Corneria like a gentle touch. The smell of cinnamon toast awoke Fox and the rest of the team.

"G'morning" Fox groaned with a yawn as he walked into the main room.

Falco, it seemed, was in the midst of a rather anger-fueled conversation with Piers, "Burr, it was cold last night. Really, if anybody touches the thermostat again, I'mma flip shit, get it?"

Katt, who was in the kitchen (the adjacent room from the main room/sitting area) giggled, "You wouldn't hit a girl would you?" she cooed with a sickeningly false, innocent voice

Katt reverted back to her normal voice as she explained, "It would've been a lot cozzier if you snuggled up with your favorite kitty cat."

"Snuggle up with you? Fat chance."

Akeem snorted in laughter, "Typical, the most masculine of people tend to…fly for the other fleet."

"What's that supposed to mean…" Falco started to say but was cut off by Piers

"HA! Keemy called you gay!"

"Is this a preschool or a damned military vessel? Shut up maggot, just shut up" Wisp yelled in his drill instructor voice

"Sir yes sir!" Piers and Falco both responded in eerily similar mocking voices

" Geez laweeze, It's almost like having two kids on board." Slippy groaned

" More specifically, two juvenile delinquents." Wisp growled

"That means I better get a raise for babysitting." Peppy yelled from the kitchen causing laughter from everyone except Akeem.

Bill whistled from the kitchen causing everyone to perk up, "Breakfast is ready!" he called

Immediately, the hungry team sat down to the meal of cinnamon toast, and omlettes, with a side of fruit salad.

"I didn't know you were so big on organic meals." Fox commented savoring the toast in his mouth

"You take it for granted until you live on Katina." Bill admitted, "When ya have to live on survival rations like the average Katinian, you realize how good fruit and vegetables taste. And besides, thank Peppy and the girls, they helped with the food prep."

Slippy piped up, "Does anybody else besides me think that could sell as a band name? Peppy and the Girls?"

There was a moment of awkward silence, as no one knew quite how to respond to such a random comment. Then, Wisp verbalized what everyone minus Slippy was thinking, "Slippy, what galaxy is your head in right now, cause you say some of the stupidest crap."

"You should know by now Sarg, my mind is in a place all its own."

"Hence why you were so easy to sneak up on all the time." Falco sniggered

The entire team, Slippy included, shared a good laugh at the frog's expense

The team ate in silence for a few minutes when Miyu piped up, "When are we moving out Fox?"

Akeem spoke, "I suggest we get out to Finale Ocean by noon. From what Pepper told me when we moved out, the Venomian fleet's slow moving, they're in no hurry to get things started. What Andross doesn't realize is, this time, his cocky attitude will actually cost him. The military's set up a three-tier perimeter system.

Miyu spoke up, "If Andross' army manages to breach the planet, one can assume the fleet will go for the gusto and attack the island head on, no formalities."

"But couldn't they just dive bomb the island from the sky?" Fox asked, confused

"You have to account for the fact that most of Venom's force consists of common criminals. Anything beyond bum rushing a target is considered complicated to them. With that in mind, you have yourself a pretty predictable attack strategy." Peppy explained

Bill laughed, "That only pretty much leaves them attacking from the ocean, apparently the island itself is more important than costal security."

"But….aren't we kind of backing ourselves into a corner if we're minimizing our territory?" asked Falco

Fox nodded absently, "That's when Corneria fights at its best, when it's down."

Wisp laughed rudely, " Your little briefing is cute, but you're leaving out one thing. Corneria City covers an entire island, an island that's covered on all sides by the Finale Ocean. So that leaves four points of attack."

"He could stage center his troops in one place, or he could very well attack the entire island all at once, depending on the actually fleet size." Peppy added

"You must be senile as you look old man. Do ya think a guy like Andross has enough troops to storm Corneria?"

Wisp looked as if he was about to retort., but Slippy interrupted, "Enough troops? What you should be concerned about is his war machines. That's where anything commanded by Andross is bound to excel. Not only that, but he's got an expensive taste when it comes to instruments of death There were many times where Andross almost exhausted the Research Department's budget on his projects."

Again, Wisp looked as if he were about to speak, but this time Peppy interrupted, "He's completely right, and no amount of yelling will change that." Peppy snared, glaring right at Wisp, who finally seemed content with keeping quiet, "No matter what Andross has in store. We need to push the Arwings to the limit, and then some. Fay, how fast can these things go?" he asked

"The highest we every got it to go was 93 mph. That is unless, it collides with something."

Slippy caught on quickly, "Up and down on a grid. Corneria City's rather small…"

"Are you two saying we can't cover the whole island" Fox asked

"Not that we can't persay, but we don't know how possible that'll be. "

"And we know Corneria's military isn't exactly credited with ever doing well." Fox explained

", I can use my camera drones to observe the remaining two coastlines." Akeem offered, causing Fox to nod.

"You're giving Corneria's Air Force less credit than it deserves. You act as if they can't handle themselves." Peppy addressed the table of mercenaries.

Katt chuckled, "I gotta agree with Foxy Boy on this one. I remember this one time me and Falco got into something of a scrimmish with Katina's Air Force, and they ran around like a bunch of Academy Launchies, didn't know how to cage this Katt." Katt said, purring at the memory

"So it was YOU who…" Wisp shouted directly at Falco, causing Fay and Miyu to flinch.

"Look, can we just drop it? I knew from day one that Katt had been signed on to break me down, make me admit the things I did."

"Heh, so I was right." Fox whispered

However, he didn't whisper this as quietly as he had figured, because Falco stood up, turning beet red, "McCloud, you can't possibly tell me you knew about this."

Fox threw his paws up as a defensive gesture, "I had a chat with Pepper before we lifted off. Henry's been out to break you since he signed on Katt. I don't approve of it, and Pepper doesn't either. Katt, if you try to disintegrate this team like Henry ordered you to, I can have you arrested on conspiracy charges faster than a speeding Arwing, and I have the good General Pepper to back me."

Katt stood up in a disgruntled explosion of fury and stomped out of the room while the others finished their meals. ROB rolled in, "Incoming message from General Pepper." the robot droaned.

The remaining team members ran to the main room and sat on the two couches. General Pepper's face appeared in the hologram projector that came up from the wooden coffee table, "General Pepper here" began the General, "I would imagine that Akeem has breifed you on how we're going to defend the motherland."

Pepper cleared his throat before continuing, "We have devised a three tier defense system. The first is our warships, which specialize in interplanetary travel and defense."

A grid appeared alongside Pepper, a sphere shaped, green lined graph. Above the sphere, several medium-sized linear pieces appeared, "As this simulation suggests, we have placed our crafts as close to the planet's stratosphere as possible as to provide a sort of simplistic barricade."

The next grid showed a scaled down version of Corneria City, surrounded by the Finale Ocean. Several jet shaped pieces were placed in the simulated sky.

"The second tier" the General continued, "Belongs to our Air Force, which is where you'll come in. We believe that the Venom Air Force will attempt to divebomb the island…"

"General, with all due respect sir, that's completely contrary to everything I've ever observed in battles against Venom" Akeem said

"I would imagine they have some sort of land-based weapon they want to get on to the battle field, and quickly, correct?" asked Fay

"Ahhhh, once again, you're correct Miss Spaniel. This…."

The grid changed, to an actual video feed. The shot was a simple one, of a gold, metallic bowling ball-looking machine, obviously rolling through the deserts of Venom, onto what appeared to be a weapons testing range. This range however, was absent of the abandoned bunkers and bullseye targets that the Academy-trained members of the group were used to seeing. This weapons testing range was built to represent Corneria City, complete with full sized skyscrapers. And that was what the weapon appeared to be aimed at. It rolled with amazing speed towards the first, crashing into it, and exiting through the other end, seemingly bulldozing through it. The machine moved swiftly along as the first building collapsed. The similar buildings near the first shared the same fate, as the machine flawlessly bulldozed the massive skyscrapers to rubble.

"That is footage our spies have uncovered of Venom's most prized on-land weapon, an Armadillo class weapon."

"I remember Beltino talking about this" Peppy remembered, "It was one of the blueprints Andross left behind on purpose."

"Wait, what kind of traitor leaves blueprints of his toys behind?" Piers asked, chuckling

"Andross was shameless about mocking the Cornerian Army, even when he was on our side. He honestly believed that even if we had an idea of what was coming, we still would lose." Peppy explained

"Well, if the majority of the fleet actually had crafts that had decent shielding, we would be okay." Bill pointed out

"Yeah, a lot of the Cornerian fleet's ships are still from the era of bullets and missiles, but now we've done a half ass job of rebuilding them so they can at least shoot laser. I guess being hopelessly under-equipped is what you get when you live in a normally peaceful place…" Slippy had begun to ramble, but Pepper cut him off.

"Grey, Toad now isn't the time for this. Hare, you're quite right. From what we recovered of Andross' hand-me-downs, we noticed a pattern. The blueprints he left behind were ones that were literally nothing more than sketches, mere artist renderings, drawn in beginning planning stages. As Peppy said, Andross wanted us to know what we were in for to some extent today, so that if he won, the bragging rights would be all the sweeter."

"What a cocky bastard" Bill snarled

Pepper paid no heed to this comment as he continued, "What we've seen here, is an Armadillo class weapon, a self-operated wrecking ball, which can destroy anything in its path without losing momentum in the slightest. What we plan to do is jam the radar, in the hopes that the Venomians will drop the Armadillo further away from the city than they want it to be, so that it will give us at least some time to devise a plot on how to stop it."

"Permission to speak freely General?" Miyu asked

"Yes m'am. You needn't ask permission again."

"Well sir, say the space brigade succeeds, and with the Armadillo disoriented, then the air force will just be sitting around. As I'm sure you know sir, the Arwings are have better shielding than the average Cornerian flighter as their predecessors have , so wouldn't it be better suited for us to be on the space front?"

"I can't allow that."

"And why not?" asked Fox, now suddenly angry

"In my hearing with the Council, one of the compromises that came about, other than the fact that you be paid on a commission of sorts, was that you be used as minimally as possible. Unfortunately, you being placed in the air tier of the defense is purposeful, in the hopes that you wouldn't be used at all."

There was a tense silence that filled the room. Each mercenary boiled inside. The promise of high pay, the promise of getting a prominent place in the war, all those hopes, especially those that Fox had had, were dashed.

"So you brought us up, in these state-of-the-art craft, to do NOTHING!" Falco squawked

"Pepper, you scumbag." came a new voice

Katt Monroe marched to the front of the room, hands on her hips, "When I was told that I was supposed to sell out Falco, I had the promise of a clean record, and some money to my name. You've probably lied to me about that too!"

Pepper looked angry, "None of these things are my doing! Henry suggested that you bring down Falco, and the Council suggested that you be benchwarmers! If it were up to me, you would be one of the leading batallions. Look, if you perform well here, maybe greater things will come of this. If not….then I don't know. But I can tell you right now, before you dock the fighters for good, that if you decide to walk out on us, whether to live civilian lives, or jump to Venom, I swear, the Cornerian Government will find you, and have you thrown away for life for treason. Honestly, you're best option if just to put up with benchwarming…."

"Enough! This breifing is over! We'll do what we're assigned for now, but we will NOT be chastised for your lack of a spine! And really Pepper, jump to Venom? Do you forget who all of us are? We've all lost something in some form to Venom, so becoming turncoats is not an option. However, if being subservient props is our best option, we'll take it dammit."

Everyone shot wide eyed, surprised looks, at the speaker, Fox, who up to this point had kept a stoic, cold pose in the matter. It was obvious that he felt the same resentment, that everyone else did, but the fact he had the gull to verbally pummel their employer, one of the two highest ranking military officers in the galaxy, shocked them all.

Pepper looked more guilt-ridden than they'd ever seen him, as if he were in the process of eating the rock-hard and sour words of Fox McCloud, "Very well. Pepper out." was all the General could say as the hologram went blank.

On General Pepper's end, he disconnected the hologram. He wasted no time in pouring himself a glass of Corneria's hardest liquor, gulping it down, and letting himself lazily fall back into his office chair

"What're ya doin Jack? Is this how you treat friends? What're ya doin?" he asked himself, burying his face in his paws.

Around the same time, Falco was the first to break the silence , "Unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable."

"Damn straight son" was all Wisp could say, as he was equally frustrated

"We could've stayed in school for this kind of treatment." Miyu whispered to Fay.

"Why should we even deploy then? Anybody ever thought about that?" Piers whined

"Because they'd shoot us down if we didn't, you fool." Akeem snarled

"I don't like your tone." Fox snapped suddenly

"Who are you? My grandmother?" Akeem snapped back

"No, it's just….nevermind, it's nothing I could explain."

Akeem gave Fox a befuddled look as he continued on, "Anyway, we should deploy, honestly, only because we all signed on to. If the government thinks we're that useless, then honestly, I'll ask for a transfer to a patrol position off planet after this. At least we'll get paid a living wage that way."

"But what's that, like, eight credits an hour? A day's wage between 12 of us ain't jack, not enough for ship repairs anyway." Falco pointed out

"Well, if I'm lucky, I will have paid off my father's debt by the time I'm 86. Hey, at least it's something . Furthermore, we're all still a team right?"

"Aye aye!" Piers replied

"Thank you for maintaining your positivity Piers. As for the rest of you, make sure all the stuff's ready for deployment this afternoon, and if you can, catch some Zs, cause even though this'll be a sightseeing trip, we're still on a battlefield, we all need to be alert and vigilant. Peppy, we need to talk, the rest of you are dismissed."

Fox waited until the last person had departed from the room before bringing anything up, "Pep, what do ya think about Akeem?"

"Well, I honestly think he's a Pepper watchdog. I mean, he worked for the Archives department for Creator's sake."

"Obviously, but what I meant about how he talks to Piers."

"How do you mean? Nothing leapt out at me other than the fact he's a conceited asshole."

Fox shook his head,"No. When he was talking to Piers, the way he brought up the consequences of jumping ship is like something they'd been briefed on before hand."

"Well I would imagine that would be an important topic to discuss when signing a mercenary."

"No, I mean as if they were given specific instructions on how to handle it."

"Handle it?"

Fox thought for a moment, "You know what, nevermind. If I brought it up now, it'd cause more drama. It's probably just me being paranoid."

"Fox, take some down time, your mind is all over the place, I'll supervise the prep work."

"Thanks Pep. I should be good by launch."

"I figured ya would." Peppy said.

The sage-like hare turned on his heel to walk away, but shot a glance over his shoulder, "Hey, do you remember your dad's old advice?"

" Which advise are we talkin'?" chided Fox

"When the time comes, just act."

Fox's eyes went wide, "That was Dad? That was on banners all over the Academy, but I had no idea…."

"Yeah, he was, without a doubt, the greatest flier that old place ever had, so his words were golden. What you don't realize is, more people looked up to him than you realize. Without even knowing who he was, people would see his name at the tippy top of the scoring system and say, 'I wanna be like this James McCloud'"

Fox smirked, "What about the people that flew with him?"

"Even moreso. We teased him cause your mother had him so whipped so early, he didn't do a single immoral thing, unlike the rest of us. Besides that…well, you have memories of your father doncha?"

"Yeah, he was cool, charasmatic, funny, brave….everything I wanted to be."

"Your father had a cult following. Sure the name 'James McCloud' wasn't famous like "Phoenix" wa-"

Before Hare could catch himself, he heard Fox whisper, "Fara…damn it."

"Fox I…."

"No. I have a lot of thinking to do."

And like that, Fox walked out of the room, no formal dismissal

The rest of the morning was uneventful for Miyu Linx. That was, until a certain thought came across her mind while she was talking to Fay, "We can't possibly beat them all can we? There are millions of drones. " she whined

"Of course we can. The other team members have our backs, and I have yours, so don't be such a Negative Nancy okay?" Fay asked, hugging her as she did so.

A small grin crept across Miyu's face at that moment. It felt to her as if she wanted to be in her best friend's arm. The only other time she'd ever felt this way was when she believed herself to be in love

Miyu grimaced at the thought, _No no! I'm NOT in love with Fay, She's my best friend and nothing more! _She said trying her best to pull away from the hug gentley

As much as she denied the prospect, it wouldn't surprise her if she had fallen in love with her best friend, as they had been there for each other since their primary school days. There was no one that the other could trust more.

Fox on the other hand, was on the opposite side of the love spectrum as it seemed. He sighed, depressed as he looked through an old scrapbook in his bedroom. One picture he came upon was Fara, his old love sitting in Fox's lap, both laughing. _She was so much fun. _Fox thought to himself.

Just as he began to wimper, Peppy came in, "Hey Fox, I came to see what was the…oh" Peppy sighed when he saw the scrapbook, "There will be others Fox. You're a great guy and…" Peppy began to lecture.

"That's not it Pep. I just refuse that's all. Fara was the one I mean, THE ONE. When I say that, people roll their eyes because Fara was super rich. There was more to it deep down though, deep down there was love involved."

Peppy scoffed jokingly, "I didn't think 'refuse' was a word you McClouds could use. You must've picked it up in that damned public school." He continued

Fox let out a chuckle, "You're right Peppy, but how will I know that this will be able to see past the work that I do and the money that I get, or even the danger of my occupation?"

Peppy smiled, sitting down on the bed, "I remember what that's like, and there will be many like that. There will be this…this feeling that you get, that unexplainable warm and fuzzy feeling. Plus, you'll blush and stutter like you've never done before."

Fox grinned, "Thanks a lot Peppy." He said jumping off the bed.

"It's what I do Fox, it's what I do."

Fox walked down the halls and from the sounds of it, Katt and Falco were in the middle of a pretty heated argument, "I get the mattress, you get the bed!" Falco shouted

"No, ladies get the mattress. Besides, you're a big strong man, you can tough it out." Katt shouted louder

Peppy coughed causing the two to peek out of the room, "Do I have to babysit you children? Trust me on this one, within three days, you won't be having this argument if you know what I'm saying."

"Are you kidding me old man? She's here because that idiot General Henry wants me to reveal my past, which I'm not very proud of so that you will look at me as more of a no good punk than you already do."

"Look Falco, I don't…" Peppy started

However, Katt put her paw up, "Look, little man, I didn't want to do this either. He threatened to make my criminal record public too. Then he offered me a bonus."

"Look, if you want my affections as much as you act like you do, that's really a bullshit way of doing it."

"Look man, we don't all have the dream gig that you do. In fact, you and I are the only gang members that aren't put away right now, and I barely managed to lay low. On top of all that, I have about a hundred credits to my name, but that's about it. If I'd known it would've ruffled your feathers as much as it has, I wouldn't have done it. I value our friendship too much. I'm sorry."

Falco let his head hang for a moment as he thought. Suddenly, his gaze snapped up to Katt's again, "Alright, but one fishy move from you and it's BAM, outta da sky." Falco shouted, leaving the room in a haste, shoving past Peppy in the process.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Peppy spoke up, "You know that he means well right?"

Katt smiled, as if the argument had never happened, "Yep! You know old Falco, if he threatens your life, it means he loves you."

Peppy shook his head muttering something about youth as the two went their separate ways

Satisfied that the problem had been solved without his intervention, Fox McCloud walked away. He walked into the hangar and saw Slippy examining the Arwings, "I'll tell ya Fox, they're real works of beauty. The Arwings are very complicated little birds, that's for sure. I'm sure I'll be up to the task though."

Fox nodded. Just then, ROB wheeled in, "The time is approximately 11:30 AM and we have made it to the Western Finale Ocean.

Fox nodded his face suddenly turning stern, "ROB, broadcast over the intercom that we are to launch immediately."

"Yes sir." ROB said, wheeling away

Almost immediately after ROB was out of range, his monotone voice blared on the speaker, "Star Fox Team, begin launch procedures."

ROB must have repeated the message one hundred times over, but Fox didn't hear any of them. He jumped into his Arwing, his team did the same in their own ships. One at a time, the Star Fox Team were launched out of the hangar, coming to a sudden stop as they reached their corner of the island.

"Should we….should we open the wings?" Miyu stammered

"No" Fox growled, "We wait and see if we get any action."

Just then, a famillar face, the face of General Pepper came onto the screen of every ship, "General Pepper here. The First Tier is getting pounded out there. Second and Third Tiers should be prepared to fleets engage except for Star Fox. Star Fox, you engage only…."

**BA-BOOM!**

A sound from outside rocked everyone in range to hear it. A dinky looking carrier, similar to the Sand Crab, barreled through the atmosphere. Attached to the underbelly of the carrier was the Armadillo Class machine they had all seen in the briefing. Behind it, an escort of generic looking Venomian Ships, numbering at about 200 came into view

"My radar just went out. We're doing it, we're freaking doing it!" Slippy cheered

From each corner of the island, the other three subsections of the Second Tier converged on the invading force. A dogfight insued, with Cornerian and Venomian craft engaged in an arial ballet, with the Venomian Carrier. The dogfight was a standstill, with no side gaining the upperhand. But, after a slew of good shots on the Cornerian end, they began to dominate. However, the Venomians didn't stand for it for long, as they retreated in the direction of the city. Fox and company listened to the radio communication as it happened

"Blue leader to White Leader, give me a count on downed Venomian ships."

"White leader here, about 50 from the escort are down, Gold Leader, what about that escort?"

"Gold Leader here, do not engage that craft! The pincers have some sort of reflective armor, 10 of my guys are down because of…..The carrier has dropped its cargo, I repeat, the carrier has drop its cargo into the Hell's Pit mountain reigon. We've successfully thwarted the ground assault."

"Ehhhh I wouldn't count my chickens just yet, Venomian cruisers are still lingering about in our atmophere, but only a few small cargo ones, no weapons on board….Wait what? Why is the carrier stopping?" said White Leader

"OH MY GOD! BOMBS!" cried Gold Leader as it went to static

"The ground crew doesn't stand a…" Blue Leader said as he too, was apparently shot down.

"Send in…." White Leader, the only person who seemed content with his fate, said as he too, went to static.

Fox frantically tried to tap into his radio, "Second Tier, come in! Second Tier! Anybody from second Tier?" Fox asked

Nothing

"Shiiiit." moaned Falco

"Check your G-Diffusers and open your wings, we're moving out!"

Suddenly, three large objects broke through the atmosphere and crashed to the ground.

"Third Tier, what the hell was that?" demanded Fox

"We don't…."

"It ain't over yet…"

Tens of smaller objects entered the fray in a similar fashion.

"Oh my God….TANKS! We can't….GRAHHH!"

Static

"Our firepower isn't heavy enough for….."

** CRASH!**

Once again, static

"Star Fox Team, engage!" Fox ordered, as the team of mercenaries entered the fray

Just as soon as they began to move into the action, a lone ship flew directly at them, which Akeem shot down.

"A scout. Hmph, if one wishes to be a scout, one must at least be classy about it." he snorted

A fleet of five in a hexagonal formation were their next challengers. Falco immediately clipped the wing of one of the corners of the formation. He spiraled into the middle man, who in turn spiraled into two other ships below him. But, one still survived, and tried to retreat.

"You think THAT was cool, well eat your heart out Beak-Boy." Slippy shouted as he broke formation to go after the lone bogey

"Slippy! What the hell are you doing!" Wisp yelled

The pilot that Slippy was chasing after pulled a loop manuever, ending up behind Slippy. The toad was smart enough to use the Arwing's superior speed to distance himself from his enemy. This didn't stop his pursuer though.

"Guys, get him off me!" Slippy cried

"That's a Venomian scout ship. Has better flight capability but the weapons are complete crap."

"Doesn't stop 'em from throwing me around though." Slippy whined as his cockpit blared red to register hits on his ship.

"Clear the way guys, I've got him." Falco sighed as he destroyed the un-prepared scout ship with a laser.

"Thanks dude." said Slippy in between huge breaths of air

"Slippy, get to your place in formation. Playing hero isn't going to help you here."

"Right…..I know that now."

Fay interrupted the chatter, " Cut the chatter guys, we've officially made contact with Corneria City."

It was here that the team observed the damage. Whatever had destroyed the Second Tier, Fox surmised, had done the same thing to the city. Corneria's main highway system, which stretched all the way around the planet, connecting Corneria City to the smaller islands and tributaries, had been destroyed. Buildings had had holes blown in them or demolished to mere rubble. Some buildings appeared to have been plucked out of there place and thrown in random directions. As low as Fox and his team flew, acting partially as damage inspectors, they could see bodies of civilians littering the area.

Falco was the first person to break the trend of silence, "This is awful" was all he could utter

"What in Lylat could've done all this?" Bill asked, seemingly shocked as everyone else

"Only Andross would so mindlessly allow destruction for such a superficial cause. It's disgusting." snarled Akeem, as he deployed his scouter robot to survey the damage

"Damn it, I spent so much time with my friends in this part of town. Now all those memories lay in the rubble…"

"No time for memories, stay alert!" yelled Peppy, shooting three tanks patrolling a stretch of highway.

"I've got something on my radar, Akeem, can you ID it?"

"It looks like an old demolition robot, used for construction."

"What the hell?" asked Falco

"They're damaging the skyscrapers, and part of our mission is to prevent damage to the city, so we have to take the demolition robots down. C'mon team, let's go!" ordered Fox McCloud as they jetted off into the distance.

It wasn't long before the team spotted a demolition droid. It was in the process of using its drill-like hands to destroy a sky scraper.

"I've got this." Piers proclaimed as he used a bomb to make the robot explode.

The shrapnel sliced through the side of the building, the sharp side of each bit of shrapnel poking out of the opposite ends, in some of the larger cases, while some of the smaller bits nestled inside of the building.

"Piers, uhhhhh…that's not exactly what I'd call….um….. minimizing collateral." Miyu whimpered

Piers just smirked, "There's no robot, we aren't getting gunned down, so what's there to whine about Schoolgirl?"

"HEY!" Miyu shouted, blushing out of anger.

"I will NOT have juvenile name calling in this unit, ESPECIALLY mid mission. Keep your wits about you."

Just as he said this, a swarm of moth robots dropped down from the broken shell of a skyscraper, having cleverly concealed themselves inside of the half charred building, remaining unseen. The moths proceeded to shoot blinding silver orbs at the Cornerian fleet.

"How the hell do we beat these pesky things?" Wisp snarled, shielding his eyes from the onslaught in front of him.

"Trust your instincts Wisp, you should know that better than anyone."

"I don't got time for no mythology Hare! My shields are getting ripped to Hell."

"Arwings, barrel roll, this should deflect the orbs."

And so, the members of the fleet with The Arwing's barrel roll shield technology went to work. A majority of the shots blasted out in a random direction, but some luckily either destroyed the Mothbots entirely or clipped the wings of the few who were pummeling the older ships, causing them to spiral into each other.

"There's still one left, I got this one" Falco shouted

"Gawd, this isn't a dogfight tiger, you're…." Katt advised in a deadly serious warning tone

But she was too late, Falco had already taken off after the lowly robot.

"Avians and their massive egos." Wisp snarled

"Creator in Heaven teach, now isn't the time for being a racist." Bill snapped

"Well damn it Bill, if you'd actually spoken up every once in a while, I would'nt 'ave forgotten you were still there."

"I don't whine and complain every five seconds like some of us, old man." Bill shot back.

Wisp fumed but a realization from Peppy snapped everyone out of it, "Guys, can the chatter. Falco's got two bogeys tailing him!"

"Yeah," Falco snidely rolled his eyes, "Could you…..CRAP!"

A laser bolt from one of the two Venomian fighters hit Falco's Arwing in the bottom left part of the thruster, causing a huge "**POP!**" to be heard. Falco could suddenly be seen being jolted upward from a blast. For a split second, everyone stayed silent, for the exception of Katt, who gasped. Just as quickly as it had happened, Falco's visual reappeared again, the avian looking unnaturally panicked now, "Guys, my G-Diffuser's shot, could ya try and draw 'em out, I can only fly straight."

"Damn it. He's flying right into an ambush." Akeem snarled

"What?" a now panicked Katt Monroe shrieked

"My camera drones indicate that several saucer-like ships are placed near the two buildings Falco is currently flying between, and my database tells me they're laser touting."

"That wouldn't normally be bad….if Falco's shields and navigation's weren't shot."

"Miyu, Fay, Katt, you take the building on the left, Wisp, Akeem, Piers, you take the building on the right. I'm going for Falco. Peppy and Slippy, you two hang back in case we get uninvited guests."

Like a well oiled machine, the two strike teams Fox had designated took out the laser saucers without as much as breaking a sweat. Fox however, had a much different task at hand. Falco's shields had been reduced to nearly nothing, and he only one shot.

"FOX, WHAT THE HELL MAN! I'M ALMOST FRIED HERE!"

"Hold on Falco…."

The ships began to inch closer together, likely looking for a grand synchronized finish. That's when Fox, ever the hunter, struck. Locking on to the ship that was only inches higher than the other, Fox fired. The ship was immediately engulfed in a ball of flame. The other pilot had no time to react as the flaming ball of wreckage that was his partner descended upon him, causing him to become a part of the mangled heap of wreckage himself.

"I guess I should uh….be thankful for that." a shaken Falco shuddered

"Hey man, no thank you note required, although I would like one occasionaly, considering I save your feathered ass all the damn time." jested McCloud

"Fuck you."

"As hilarious as it is to listen to you guys argue, you need to go back up to the mothership Falco. You've got no shield left, so you're relying entirely on the amount of structural damage the armor can take…." Miyu began, but Fox cut her off

"Not so fast Private Lynx. You know the outskirts of the city pretty well doncha Falco?"

"Yeah, I've done some less-than-legal shit there, if that's what you mean."

"Then you're staying. Falco, Katt, Bill, Wisp form up alongside me, your knowledge of the land around these parts should help us get to the bottom of what's causing this chaos. Piers, cover you them, and be prepared to go apeshit with bombs if we run into trouble, and then maybe we stand a chance at finding the source of all this mayhem."

"I find the term 'apeshit' rather offensive…." Akeem growled, giving off a trademark snarl

"Can it monkey boy, and do what the Captain says." Piers said in a mocking fashion as the team officially crossed the unofficial boarder that separated the city from the wilderness.

As soon as their expedition had begun, the team encountered an obstacle. Two AA guns were mounted on a natural occurring arch-shaped fixture of rock. To make diving through the hole in the arch impossible, two more AA guns had been planted there. Without hesitation, Wisp emptied his ship's single bomb, aiming it to collide with the arch itself, dismantling the guns on top of, and below it.

"Well I'll be damned" remarked Piers, an impressed look on his face, "I couldn't have done it any better myself."

"Two months of wilderness survival training teach's ya how to make technology and nature yer friends, not two competing entities." Wisp said matter-of-factly

"Oh my Creator, there are more demolition robots just ahead." Akeem informed the group.

"What? What the hell would construction equipment be doing in the friggin outskirts."

"They're twirling buildings literally like batons."

"Forgive me for breaking formation Captain, I like to think of it as planning ahead." Piers explained before he did indeed break formation

"I'm going with him, I've been itchin to get my paws dirty." said Katt as she followed suit.

Piers made it to the open clearing first, where he used a bomb to take out the robot that was twirling his building as if it were a sparkler. Seeing this, the second robot tossed his building at Katt, who artfully barrel rolled her ship to the right to avoid the collision. Swooping downward, she shot a laser at the point where the tank tread wheels and the upper body connected, causing it to explode in a mini mushroom cloud of fire. Just as this happened, the rest of the fleet broke into the clearing.

Falco was the first to speak, "Well damn Katt, we coulda just sent you and Long John over there and you guys woulda torn 'em apart."

"You know it birdbrain" Katt winked

"Guys, I have a lock on Andross' land weapon, just across this creek here."

"I hate to break it to you guys, but it looks like we have company" Peppy warned, "Androssian boats are combing the creek."

"Guys, I got this." Fox said, "Now stand back"

Flying underneath the arches that were set in between the two sides of the creek, he tore through each boat's poorly armed hull, leaving the boats, which only sported a standard AA gun as weapons support, totally unprepared.

"Gotta say Foxie, that was pretty smooth." Falco said with a whistle, obviously impressed

"Hey man, I learned stunt flying from the best. Now let's move."

"Recalling camera drones now, approximately 5 bombers just ahead." Akeem informed the fleet

The team flew forward, near the coastline and as always, Akeem's observation proved correct. As Fox and company barrel rolled and dodged to avoid the nearly endless onslaught of bombs, Falco squinted as if straining to see something.

"Falco, you're squinting. Something wrong?" asked the captain

"No, I'm just trying to get visual confirmation." Lombardi spoke

"Visual confirmation? Of what?

"The target."

"Huh?"

"The carrier. It was behind the clouds, and it went behind the waterfall at 3 o'clock."

Fox looked to his right, where "3 o'clock" would be in military lingo, and saw there was, in fact, a waterfall. Fox mentally cursed himself, as he had made a classic rookie mistake, failing to check his surroundings

_Snap back into it McCloud, you could get yourself killed._

"Guys, you heard Falco, follow him behind the waterfall"

And so, the team went through the waterfall, only to realize the bombers had flown over the waterfall.

"Crap, they followed us." the normally quiet and well-mannered Fay cursed

"Not to worry lass." Piers exclaimed, firing a bomb

As it connected with the front most bomber, causing a huge explosion which took the closely packed fleet of bombers out, Piers continued, "Sometimes ya just have to fight bombs with bombs."

Fox examined his surroundings. They had reached the east coast of the Finale Ocean, which seemed to be barely disturbed, if not for the variety of Cornerian fighter parts that lingered in the water. Fox snarled.

_The Second Tier never made it here. It looks like they flew into some kind of explosion. What could have possibly wreaked this much destruction? _Fox thought

"Well well! Someone wants to PLAY!" a crocodile taunted a huge carrier rocketed in braking the formation.

Fox immediately squeezed the trigger shooting at the nose of the ship, but the shots deflected.

"Peppy, I think that might be the carrier that destroyed Second Tier." Fox said

"What makes you think that? It's a dinky carrier, and besides, no carrier could carrier anything that caused that much damage." Wisp asked, his HUD shot looking incredibly confused

Just as Peppy asked this , the hatches opened, and a huge swarm of drones came out of one of the hangars, no bigger than nickels. One drone collided with Slippy, who was distracted analyzing

"What? Drones?" whined Falco, who sounded disappointed

One drone collided with Slippy, who was distracted analyzing the enemy shield.

"Shit! That thing cut my shield in half! These things are super dangerous."

"Gah! Those things are pelting me. My shield is at 30 percent!" Bill howled in pain.

Wisp rubbed his chin in thought for a second, his muzzle curling into a bizarre smirk, "It looks like these things'll lock on to ya, so everybody, run like hell and hope they don't lock on to ya."

"Also, the barrel roll shield should deflect the drone."

Bill's eyes widened, for the first time, showing fear, "Ummm Fox, not to be a jerk or anything but uhhhh….."

"I know Bill. Piers, cover the older ships with bomb fire."

"Aye aye Captain!" Piers saluted over his HUD shot

As Piers covered the non-Arwings using his many bombs, Peppy spoke up, "Fox, it appears that if we can get a clear shot of the cannons when he launces droids, we can eliminate the offense of this carrier.

"Thanks for the tip Pep"

Fox McCloud turned his attention to his the Arwing pilots in his squad, "All Arwing fighters, keep barrel rolling, I'll…."

Just as he uttered these words, two small drones collided with both his wings, snapping them off.

"Fox! Are you OK?" asked Katt

"Yeah Katt, I am. My arwing though…"

"Fox, you lasers are weakened by %90" ROB informed him as Fox re-oriented the ship to normal position.

Fox shot for the hangars once they reopened. The top right one seemed o shiver and then collapsed on top of the bottom right one. A single ball of fire erupted from the nose of the carrier causing rocking the nose of Fox's ship

"Fox, be careful!" Slippy warned as he noticed the carnage.

Fox attempted to shoot the right hangar. A green ball of energy formed on the nose of Fox's Arwing, as if a laser was prepping to fire, but it fizzled.

"Miyu, Fay, my lasers are shot, and I've got no bombs left, what do I do?"

"Well" Miyu thought aloud, "I guess you're still in the air, so you can work out something, and your boosters should be working at full capacity . Other than that I'm stumped." Miyu said as she took out a flock of drones with a charged shot.

Based on those words alone, Fox was able to form an idea. He flew right into Slippy's flightpath causing the drones to lock on to him, "What happened to us covering the drones?" Falco laughed

"Just work with me bird-brain."

Fox then flew for the carrier, "Ramming me will not work, but I commend your bravery." The croc said laughing.

At the last second, Fox pulled up causing the drones to ram right into the hangars, thereby exploding destroying it in a MASSIVE explosion, "Guys, go to town!" Fox said pulling back.

The eleven ships took turns blasting the hangarless carrier. Suddenly, an explosion from the inside rocked the carrier. A couple more explosions erupted from within the carrier.

"There goes the drone reserve." Piers yelled, laughing heartily as the carrier plummeted into the sea without a word.

The team immediately backtracked, going to Hell's Pit. This area of Corneria was a mountainous region with a small clearing in the middle. The Armadillo, the very ship Fox and company had seen in the breifings, was right before them. As though it were some sort of mechanically twisted predator, it lay in the wake of several totaled Cornerian vehicles, and even more sickeningly, it meddled about in a pit of dead bodies, most of them with all of their bones broken from the machine's massive

Slippy laughed over the HUD, "You guys, this thing's controlled by AI. It shouldn't be too hard." He said

Just as the team was about to fly in, the Armadillo stopped thrashing widly amongst the carcasses of its victims wildly and turned towards the formation.

"Pull back pull back! It's got something in mind!" Wisp yelled

"C'mon mate! It's just…" Piers began

Without warning, the ship rolled towards one of the small hills and ramped off of it flying right for Peppy. Luckily Fay had fired a Nova Bomb and the Armadillo dropped down in a ball of fire before it connected with Peppy.

"Okay you guys. Report in."

"Falco here, not a scratch."

"This is Slippy and I'm okay."

"This is Katt and other than being a little shaken, everything's purrfect." she said giggling slightly

" I just saw my damned life flash before my eyes!" Peppy yelled, shaking slightly

"Miyu here. I'm a little beat up, but I'm fine."

"Fay here. I'm okay. The ship could be in better shape, but I'm alright."

"This ship's still mine matie, so I haven't got a complaint in the world" Piers laughed

"Sargeant Wisp is A-OK." Wisp yelled

"Bill here, I've got some damage, but there ain't no beatin this ship can't fly away from!" he yelled with a howl.

"Akeem here and everything there are no problems to be reported." Akeem explained

The ships rocketed through the atmosphere of Corneria when Fox noticed something, "Miyu, for being minus a wing here, I'm manuvering this pretty well."

Miyu giggled, "You've got two smaller wings for added stability." she explained.

Fox chuckled, giving Miyu's video feed a look that clearly read, "I'll be damned" as the team jetted back to The Great Fox.

As soon as Fox got out of his Arwing, he observed the scene around him. All of his teammates were exchanging high fives and handshakes of congratulation, along with some light-hearted, playful words of encouragement, except Wisp and Akeem, who occasionally would give nods of acknowledgement to teammates, but nothing more. In the midst of his team basking in the clear victory, he saw a visibly shaken and mortified Peppy. The old hare mouthed, "I need to talk to you."

The two went into the hallway and Peppy cleared his throat clearly trying to compose himself, "The…t-the mission on Corneria…I saw…my life flash before my eyes." Peppy quivered, " I thought I was gonna die I don't think I should be flying no more. Near-death experiences have messed me up so much before, and I think I need to call it quits. I've got Lucy to support, I promised I'd always be there for her."

"Peppy, I understand. Even the great James McCloud talked about retirement. Just at least fly the mission to Meteo with us and I'll ask for a new pilot from Pepper…"

"Now now, I could never leave you guys outright, especially in the middle of a mission. I'll still be around to give you all advice but…an old hare like me doesn't belong in the driver's seat of an expensive military craft."

"Thank the Creator Peppy's still on board! Okay, anybody wanna bet the new pilot's one of Henry's pawns?" Slippy asked,

This comment was met by possibly the most awkward silence of all time as both Wisp and Bill stared coldly in the loudmouthed frog's direction, "No offense" the loudmouth frog yelped

Bill waved his right paw as if to say no comment, but Wisp just snarled and walked away.

Slippy's comment had turned the other team member's attention to the conversation at hand "Gramps, we've always flown with you." Falco protested, Slippy nodding in agreement

"You can't talk me out of it Lombardi. I've finally seen the light, and it's in the Great Fox as tactical enforcement , not in an Arwing, risking my damned neck."

The team chuckled at this. Fox spoke up, "Guys, we exceeded the Army's expectations, hell, we've exceeded our own expectations. We did a damn good job."

"But we technically disobeyed orders. Pepper didn't sound like he wanted us involved to begin with." Wisp snarled

"We were his only option. If Pepper doesn't like what we did out there, I'm willing to put my neck on the line for all of you."

"Fox, has anyone told you you're a sweetheart?" Katt asked, earning a death glare from Falco.

"You call it being a sweetheart, I call it being a good captain. Now, all of you have truly earned a break, so you're officially dismissed." Fox said, smiling as he watched his team of fighters scatter off.

(AN: It's been a year, and finally, I have returned, with this new and improved Corneria Chapter. Sorry for the wait all, and to those old fans that still are around to review, I thank you dearly in advance for putting up with my absence. Next is the Meteo Chapter.)


	7. Chapter 6: A mad mad warp

Chapter 6

A mad mad warp

"Night" came quickly to the team, considering that space was always a dark, cold place. In reality though, most of the team was just completely drained from saving Corneria, but none more that leader of The Star Fox Team, Fox McCloud. That, and the fact that they had been waiting nearly 12 hours for their next mission orders, if they were to receive them at all, put the team at a state of relative laziness. Most of the team members had found something to do, but Fox was perfectly content watching TV.

His relative peace was shattered when Akeem stomped up to the front of the room, announcing, "I believe we have a traitor in our midst."

"Huh?" Fox mumbled, lost in the happenings of the television program

"I believe it is our resident pirate. The fact that aircraft of his is of Venomian design frightens me."

Piers walked over sipping a shot glass of rum, "For your information mate, I stole it from Venom when they captured me crew on Zoness."

"The 28 bombs?" Akeem asked

"I got the parts from one of Venom's ships when they attacked Aquas."

Akeem glared as he walked away. Piers meanwhile, walked over to Fox's easy chair, coldly snarling "You trust me, don't you…mate?" at Fox, reaching for his cutlass.

"Are you in this for Creator and Country?"

"Yes." Piers answered

"Then you're okay in my book. Honestly, I care more about Lylat than I would any suspicious circumstances. If you watch my back, I'll watch yours, that's all I care about. Akeem, that goes for you. You should be grateful you have a team to watch your back."

Piers nodded, in a much more cheerful mood he had been than before and walked away.

Meanwhile, Falco was playing cards with Miyu, Katt, and Fay

"You got any threes?" Falco asked

"Go to Aquas." All three said at the same time in equally bored tones

"Got any sevens?" Fay asked

All three other players scoffed. All four players ended up putting their hands, one on top of another, in the middle of the table. All four were blushing, Miyu at Fay and visa versa plus Katt at Falco. Suddenly, Miyu and Falco pulled away, "I'm thirsty!" they both said walking into the kitchen.

"Look kid, if you're making eyes at me then…" Falco warned, cracking open a soda.

"It's not you…it's Fay. I see you getting all googly eyed at Katt."

Falco nearly choked on the cola he was drinking, "That was a long time ago kid. You may be smart, but you're pretty damned naïve." He said chuckling, "I mean, she's beautiful and all but she's just so…"

"Violent? Angry? Crazy?" Miyu asked with a smirk.

"All of the above." both of them laughed at that.

After the laughter subsided, the conversation turned serious, "I'd hold on to Katt as long as I could if I were you. She seems to be all you got when the going gets tough."

Falco smiled, "That's actually pretty damned close to how it is. I guess you and Fay have the same thing goin' for each other right?"

"Yes indeed sir." Miyu said, blushing

Falco paused, making sure no one other than them were listening, "Between you and me, for someone who's way younger than me, Fay's smokin hot."

Miyu let out a squeal of delight, "Ohmigawd, I know right?"

Falco laughed, "Looks like you and I connect on a lot of shit, eh kid?"

Miyu smirked, "Yeah. You know, if you need somebody impartial to talk to. I'm all ears."

Falco nodded, "I might just hit ya up on that someday kid."

And with that, the two went back to the kitchen table, where the particularly boring game of "Go to Aquas" was being played. Katt looked up at the duo, smirking, "What took you two so long to get sodas? Weren't trying to steal my man, were ya sugar?"

Miyu blushed, unable to produce a coherent reply. Seeing this, Falco spoke up, "You could say it was a bonding moment between two friends."

Katt raised an eyebrow, "Friends? I didn't think you had any besides me little man."

"Har har har. Believe it or not, I have other friends. And what's even more unbelievable, is that they come in the forms of the people you least expect." Falco said, sharing a knowing wink with Miyu.

"Since when did you get so poetic, huh tiger?" Katt asked slyly

Falco grinned, and responded, just as slyly, "None of your damn business Pink."

The four shared a laugh, and sat down to resume the game. What neither Falco nor Katt noticed was Fay blow a kiss to Miyu, and Miyu try to hide her blushing face.

Katinian Corporal William "Bill" Grey was walking through the halls when he heard something from the room nearest to which he stood.

"Is that, music I hear?" Bill asked

Bill held his paw out in front of the fingerprint analyzer on the door.

"Identified as…..Bill Grey. Access granted." said the voice of ROB as the door slid open.

Upon the bed in the room, Bill saw a sight that shocked him. Upon the bed sat Sergeant Steven Wisp, and he was playing an old acoustic guitar.

"I sing for…..my Katina…..woahohohoh…..Katina….gonna hold me through…..this old sweet song….keeps Katina on my mind." Wisp sang, in a deep, rich blues-like voice.

"Woah teach, I didn't know could sing, or play guitar."

"Heh, you woulda thought you'd figure that out about me sooner."

"I didn't even see you bring that guitar on board."

"I unpacked it and hid it while you were unloading. I didn't want anybody stealing the damn thing. Guitar strings like these are so hard to come across in the age of electronic instruments."

"Yeah, I was about to say," Bill said, "That looks like an old ass guitar. I'm guessing that's a family heirloom or somethin' ?"

"Yes sir, that was my Grandpappy's. He was a street musician when Katina was just a colony, he started when he returned from the war, and barely made any credits at all, but he loved doing it, even when the cancer started to take him, he would play at bars and have a jolly old time."

"That's really cool." Bill said, just imagining the site of a happy old man playing a guitar.

"You know, if I remember Corporal, you had quite the singing voice."

Bill blushed, "Awwww c'mon…"

"No, I mean it. If the share is enough when we finish this thing up, we should open up a little karaoke bar and grill, fill it with Star Fox memorabilia, the works."

"That sounds like a good project, and we could make some extra green from it. I'll hold you to that Sarge."

"I can taste the ribs already Corporal" Sarge said with a grin

Bill let forth a hearty chuckle as he left the room.

Meanwhile, Fox McCloud had taken to one of his more tedious duties as captain, supervising the repairs of the Arwings. Thankfully for him, the team's mechanic, Slippy Toad, was an expert. He could analyze blueprints of any vehicle and gain an almost instantaneous understanding of how it functioned, and how to repair it. Because of this, he had managed to fix most of the Arwings, as most of them required only the replenishing of shields. Fox's Arwing had suffered the most damage on Corneria. Not only had the shield been on its last proverbial breaths, but both of Fox's wings had been blown off completely, requiring more manual labor than the small stocky Toad could finish alone. Due to their long years of friendship, working together on attaching a new set of wings was easy, which only left Slippy to do the welding. Since he himself couldn't help, or be in the immediate vicinity due to the sparks, the long process was making Fox impatient.

"Slippy, is my wing done yet?" Fox asked

Luckily for the restless vulpine, Slippy had just finished the repairs.

"Yep, good as new." the toad stated

No sooner had Slippy uttered those words did an announcement come over the loudspeaker, "Incoming message from General Pepper. All team members are to meet in the briefing room." ROB shouted in his robotic monotone

"Shit, we really did it now." Slippy cursed, throwing down the wrench he had been using in frustration as he jogged off to the briefing room, Fox following close behind

When the entire team had assembled in the briefing room/lounge, the wooden table at the center of the lounge area opened up, spouting a hologram of General Pepper

"General Pepper here. First of all, I would like to tell you how impressed I am with your work on Corneria. We lost a lot of good men today, and thanks to your efforts, they did not die in vain. Now, while I deem you all heroes for your efforts today, the Council does not."

"Well then, how do they view us?" Katt asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm

"They view you as rogue scoundrels who will betray the system at the slightest chance. They don't seem to understand that the reason I assembled you all together as a team is because I share a personal connection with all of you, no matter how indirect or how scarred of a relationship we have. However, as a general I see their why it is they fear you."

"Jack….how can you….?" Peppy started to protest, but Pepper cut him off.

"Listen to me Peppy. Fox, your team's performance here today doesn't change the fact that you deviated from orders, you were never given any orders to engage the droid carrier, your main mission was to destroy the Armadillo…."

"Which we did" Piers cut in

"Yes, but technically, you deviated from that mission to pursue a target which command did not order you to pursue…"

"We were never given any orders from command." Fox snarled

"Fox, several people in command attempted to reach you, but you had switched to a private frequency after the loss of the Second Tier."

"I never gave that order. The only person who has master control of the com is….."

With that, every head in the room turned to Slippy, who had meekly tried to slouch in the seat he sat in to hide his face, "Heh heh, whoops, force of habit I guess."

"Slippy you idiot! You could've cost us…." Falco started to scream, but was stopped, again, by Pepper

"Well, because of that mistake, they deemed me responsible, seeing it as a way to pull wool over the eyes of the military. Due to my strong association with supposed renegades, I was demoted to Lieutenant General and forbidden from giving direct orders to you."

"Oh shit Gen…Lieutenant General. I'm so sorry." Fox apologized, feeling guilty.

"Fox, no need to beat yourself up, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of working under General Henry, but we're thankful that's all that happened. However, in light of all the bad news, there is some good news. After the Council trial dismissed, The Prime Minister and I had a private meeting. Now, as I'm sure you all know, The Prime Minister has the authority to override Council decisions during wartime, as he effectively becomes Free Lylat's Commander in Chief. It took all night, but The Prime Minister and I finally agreed that, as a Lieutenant General, I should be given a small pet project to lighten General Henry's load, one such as….Team Star Fox."

"So what does this mean for us?" Fay asked

"It means, I'm given supreme authority over Star Fox, and all subsequent black ops conducted by the military, and the freedom to utilize said secrets how I choose when I choose."

"Won't the Council eventually notice what's going on?" Fay asked

"To them, it appears General Henry is controlling everything, and I'm just sitting on my hands, they'll be briefed when the time comes."

Wisp stepped to the front of the room, a noticeable scowl on his face, "If you don't mind me pointing out the obvious General, we aren't exactly a secret black ops team anymore. We just busted a major Venomian offensive effort, and may have prevented Venom from winning the war today. The news outlets are bound to be all over our team like a magnet."

"That is true, you are quite the media frenzy right now, but that's the beauty of it, it's such bad war strategy it's good!"

"Huh?" was all Miyu could utter

"Think about it. Who would expect the mythical, ever popular Team Star Fox to conduct Corneria's most black bag operations?"

"Hmmmm….that is just so crazy it just might work." Bill commented, to a course of nods.

"This sounds like the original 'Operation Star Fox' all over again Jack, are you sure you wanna try this twice?" Peppy asked in a hushed voice, as if fearing for his life.

"I might be bargaining my military career on this, but damn it, I believe in you, even if the big wigs in Corneria don't. So, on to your next mission briefing."

Pepper's image disappeared, and to replace it, came the image of a ship. The ship had a grey, jet like nose with two drill like structures mounted on each side. The back of the ship was brown and bulky, with four "wings" attached to the back in a diamond like shape.

"This hunk of crap is The Meteor Crusher. It appeared out of virtually nowhere in the Meteo Asteroid Field 10 hours ago…."

"Wait wait wait and hold the fuckin' holophone." Falco yelled, bringing a stop to the briefing, "How does a ship appear out of nowhere?"

"We believe it might have something to do with a warp. You see, upon a routine patrol pre-wartime patrol of the Asteroid Field, we began detecting warp signatures similar to the Sector X warp, albeit small ones, barely enough to fit a space craft through. Somehow, between then and now, we believe Andross has found the 'other end' of this warp, sent The Crusher through it, and now it has appeared here. We estimate its sheer size ripped a bigger hole into the warp than was there before, because the warp signatures we're getting now are about 100 times bigger than those we've gotten in Meteo in the past. Now, as it pertains to The Crusher, we believe, based off of its name and design, that the ship has been sent here for one purpose, to demolish the field entirely so Androssian fleets have easy access to Corneria. We intend to stop the Crusher before it begins. Your mission is to eliminate The Crusher, and, if it tries to make his escape, pursue him, especially if he goes through the warp."

"But….but….warps are the most unpredictable scientific abnormalities ever discovered! How do we know where we'll end up?" squeaked a quivering Slippy

"Andross operates strictly in Lylat's borders, therefore, our science team is incredibly confident you will end up in Lylat somewhere upon exit from the warp. Assuming you don't engage the warp, this mission should be rather quick, due to the small size of the asteroid field. However, the asteroid field is dense with debris traffic, so please, be careful. In two hours, we should have a lock on The Crusher's position and predicted path. You leave then. Good luck." Pepper said, his hologram disappearing.

Fox turned to address his team, "Team, I don't have to tell you how important this mission is for our future. This might be our one chance to change the minds of those in power about who we are, and what we stand for. Now, the question I ask is, are you with me? Are you as intent on proving those in power wrong as I am?"

"Of course Fox." Peppy said

"Do you even have to ask Fox? You know I am!" squeaked Slippy

"You ain't never steered me wrong before, so I'm with ya." Falco said, seemingly uninterested

"Private Grey and I wouldn't have left the army with we didn't wanna rub egg in the faces of the big wigs." Wisp explained

"What he said" Bill quickly added

"There's no one I'd rather follow than you Captain Fox." Piers agreed

"You've got the support of Fay and I!" Miyu shouted

"Agreed." Fay said

"If saving Lylat means following you, then I shall do so." Akeem said with a snarl.

Katt was the last to speak out, "You've gone to every length to cover my hide when I did some regrettable things. Now I think it's time I proved myself." she said.

"Alright guys, I'm glad we're all in this together. Remember, Pepper's putting himself on the line for us, so we need to do the same for him. We need to head to the hangars, so we're ready to launch when Pepper has the analysis ready. R.O.B, patch any incoming feeds to the projector in the hangar."

"Affirmative"

And so, the team went to the without as much of a peep, each pilot reflecting on the roller coaster ride they had been on for the past few days.

As usual, the team mingled amongst themselves while they waited to receive the military's analysis. Katt, who had remained unusually quiet walked to the middle of the hangar, where Peppy Hare stood, keeping a close eye on the rest of his team,

"So, how does it feel to be flying your last mission old timer?"

Peppy smirked, never one to be truly offended by age-related remarks, and turned to face Katt, "I know I should be feeling more reminiscent about this, but this is just moving from one office to the other. Besides I was never much of a flyer to begin with, I was always more of a tactical mind, whenever I got to make the decisions in flagship flight sims in the Academy, that's where I excelled. I only took up flying full time because Jimbo was short a man, I had been expelled from the Academy."

"What? Really? What for?"

"I'll tell you some other time. It isn't something I'm particularly proud of." Peppy said.

Bill and Wisp were discussing plans for their future restaurant when Fox came up to them, "Bill, Steve, could I ask you two a question?"

"Sure pal, I'm all ears." said the Husky

"Why did you leave the Army?"

"Bill's tour of duty expired, and because I've been a career military man for 30 years, I took it as an opportunity to retire and make some actual money for myself. But we were just lucky, we would've dishonorably discharged, and done it _gladly_ if the time wasn't right, all because of that snot."

"Who?"

Suddenly, Bill became uneasy, tugging at the collar of his uniform, Wisp's expression became frighteningly dark.

"One word," Wisp spat "Shears."

"Huh? Who's Shears?" Fox asked

"Micheal Shears . Hound Dog like Pepper? North Zonessian accent?" Bill prompted

"Oh yeah! He was in the class behind us, was some sort of protégé based on what I heard about."

"You say protégé, I say kiss ass saboteur." Growled Wisp, "He's now a flagship captain."

"Captain? At three years out of the Academy, he shouldn't be captaining anything. The only person who ever got control of their own unit that fast was you Bill."

"Yeah, and that was because I saved Wisp's unit and most of Bulldog in a battle with some space pirates in Sector Z. I made it a goal to make sure nobody got tailed, and I did, because only three people died that day. And, considering how outnumbered we were, I think the losses were pretty minimal, don't you teach?"

" Yeah Bill, but you know I didn't get out so easy. I got a piece of metal lodged in my shoulder when I got jolted by a laser blast. I stepped down from captaining Husky unit, and, since Bulldog's unit commander died, Husky and Bulldog were merged. And Bill served as the interim captain of both squads. But Fox, I'm sure you've heard this ole Cinderella story before."

"No, I didn't exactly get all the military updates when I was on Katina. But anyway, despite all that, this sounds a lot like jealousy to me Wisp."

"No, if the military is a place where you can kiss ass and shoot up the ranks, it's a place we don't wanna be in, which is why we were happy to leave when the time came."

"It seems like every mercenary and their grandma is ex-military. In my dad's day, people like him and Peppy were a rarity. Why's everybody leaving?" asked Fox

"In the beginning of the fight with Venom, before Andross attacked the Academy to declare war, there were a lot of people that saw your dad's death at justified."

Fox's heart skipped a beat, remembering the backlash his family, himself and Peppy had received once the info went public, "Yeah, I remember all that shit, they said it was justified because Pepper approved a black op on what was considered a savage planet on nothing more than a hunch."

"Some of the ungrateful punks discharged dishonorably because they felt so strongly. The even lower scum went to Venom, but we stayed loyal to our allegiance, like good little soldiers." Wisp said, with an uncharacteristic grin

"Hey Fox, if you think about it, you've had a front row seat to all this action with the Venom War. First your dad dies in 'Operation Star Fox' then you're one of the Old Academy bombing survivors, then here we are as soldiers going head to head with Andross' army." mused Bill

At the mention of the Academy bombing, one word crossed his mind, as it always did.

_Wolf_

"Incoming message from General Pepper." ROB barked over the loudspeaker

"Play it over the PA." Fox ordered

General Pepper's voice boomed, "Star Fox, in the time since we've last spoken, we believe The Meteor Crusher was trying to access the warp, possibly to report to Venom, when it began experiencing engine trouble. Venom starships are converging on the scene now to guard the Meteor Crusher as it's being repaired. Be warned, the further you get into the belt, the more resistance you will encounter, If the Meteor Crusher flees through the warp, follow it, we can't have it trying to destroy the asteroid field again. Good luck."

"Well, you heard the General, let's get a move on!" Fox ordered his team.

With almost machine like efficiency, the team all climbed into their ships without a word.

"Calibrate you G-Diffusers, we shouldn't have any problems like last time. Also, make sure you continually communicate over the com channel, we don't wanna lose track of anyone, especially as the debris gets more dense. Now guys, let's move out."

Then, the ships blasted off into the asteroid field that awaited them, "Things are really starting to heat up." Slippy commented

"Toad, will you cut the useless chatter?" Wisp yelled

"Steve, no need to yell. Calm those jitters Slip." Peppy said much more calmly

As Fox listened to this banter, he saw that large chunks of asteroid were beginning to surround them.

"Okay team, we've officially entered asteroid country, keep your guard up." he warned everyone

"And" Fay added, "And….be very delicate with the Arwings, I don't want to have to tell Pepper that we damaged anything."

"Jeeze laweeze, they're just…" Falco began to whine, but he was cut off by Peppy

"Quiet!" snapped the hare, "We're coming up on pure metal asteroids"

"Ironium, virtually indestructible metal found only the Asteroid Field, presumed to be the oldest natural metal in the galaxy." Miyu recited as if she were reading from a textbook.

"Miyu, stay with us. I know it's nerve racking, but please…."

"It's way too quiet here, Akeem, are your drones picking up anything?" Peppy asked

"Even if they could, I don't wish to lose them behind the…."

Before Akeem could finish his sentence, robots resembling moth's appeared from behind the first few asteroids along their path.

"HOLY CRAP! WE'RE SWARMED!" Slippy cried

"Piers? Would you so kindly do your thing?" Fox asked, not taking any mind to the small amount of damage he was taking

"Heh, you don't even have to ask Cap'n." Piers laughed, carelessly firing a bomb into the middle of the swarm, blowing up all their targets.

Peppy shook his head, "In my day, we used our bombs a little more wisely."

"See? NOW do ya see why my blood pressure's always up? Cause of idiots like that."

"Could you cut the chatter for a sec? I think I can see fire, probably a damaged cruiser."

Ignoring the arguing group, Katt rolled to the left of one asteroid as a ship pulled out from behind it. She did a summersault and shot the ship.

"Thank the Creator we have somebody on the team who pays attention to the details." Wisp growled, "Even if she is a criminal."

"Hey, now isn't the time too…" began Fox, but he was cut off by a sudden outburst from Falco.

"WOAH!" Falco yelled pointing ahead

One giant brown asteroid loomed over them, a hole through its middle, "I'm picking up plasma energy signatures." Slippy cried nervously

"I gotta give Venom credit, they sure do work fast." commented Bill

"Great…ANOTHER trap! I've got this" Falco said, going into the fray

"Falco don't…"

Too late. The robotic turrets went to town on Falco's Arwing. Fox sighed, "Piers." Fox began, not really needing to finish.

"Aye aye." Piers saluted, firing three Nova Bombs into the asteroid in successtion, causing the turrets to be eliminated and the rock itself to crumble. Fortunately, Falco and Piers were well ahead before the thing actually collapsed,

"Good not askin' Foxie. Yer learnin." Piers chuckled,

"Fox, another one." Akeem informed the leader

They went through yet another broken asteroid, this time two long slinky robots came to greet them.  
"Go for the head!" Peppy ordered, "That should cause a chain reaction, or at least disable it."

Fay barrel rolled away as Akeem took out the one on the left, Falco and Fox taking out the one on the right. As they passed through the asteroid, they saw nothing but empty space. Suddenly, Peppy came tearing past Fox, five ships on his tail, "Fox! Damn it! They snuck in out of that asteroid! I'm getting careless!" he yelled as Fox quickly hit the one in the middle of the formation with a charged shot quickly destroying the group, "Thanks Fox."

"This is ROB 64, Warp signature detected. Time till arrival, 57 seconds." ROB informed the group as the 12 ships took out about a hundred stragglers.

"Eh heh heh! Think you're all so tough? I'll get that warp if it's the last thing I do!" a monkey's screenshot appeared

"There's our guy, keep on it." Fox ordered his wingmates

The ship pulled behind them, keeping equal pace, "Guys, those blue circles are the warp entry points" Slippy yelled, dodging some laser fire, "Flying through all of them should increase our speed enough to break through into the warp."

They went through the first circle and they started to spin, "WOAH! It's like the Twisty Rockets Ride at Katinian Funland baby!" Bill whooped

As the team of mercenaries flew through each warp circle, the ship started to roll on its own. To make matters worse, fleets of the moths they had encountered earlier in the mission blocked their paths. Fortunately, the rolling ships were able to break through them.

"Hey Miyu?" Falco asked as they went through the third warp.

"What?" the Arwing expert asked

" Can this thing break the speed of sound and not fall apart?"

"Let's hope so."

"Great" Falco chided sarcastically

"What do we dooooo?" Slippy cried as the team went through the fifth warp

"Keep firing, we can only hope that takes out SOME of the…."

From what Fox could see, by the time they made it to the seventh warp, they were literally tearing through Venom's fleet, physically flying through the moth robots and others, which could only stay put as they were torn apart by the ungodly momentum.

"WARNING!" Speeds at…" ROB began, but the communications were cut off.

"Guys, can you read me?" Fox asked, partially distracted by the stars zooming past them.

Nothing

"The stars are beautiful tonight." Fox mused, disoriented from the spinning

_Wait….stars?_

From what Fox could see, they were tearing past the stars that had been twinkling million miles away.

_Ohhhhhh shit_

Thousands of questions flooded the vulpine's mind. How far away were they from the Lylat System? Should he have risked sending his team through it? Would the Cornerian Government be able to track them if they ended up in another galaxy somewhere What kind of punishment would he get if he ended up in aforementioned galaxy? Would anyone but Pepper understand that they weren't trying to flee the system?

_Keep a cool head, keep a cool head. Like Dad always taught me._

Just as he thought this, his new surroundings fizzled into existence. When Fox saw the greenish yellow dust bobbing back in forth like water being shifted in a bucket, his initial reaction to assume he was trapped in some sort of lava lamp inspired Hell.

_If I were in hell, my team would be mangled around me _Fox rationalized

Fox shot a glance over his shoulder, to see that the team was there, drifting lazily in formation, probably just as thrown off as he was.

Fox's pressed a button in his headset with a shaking finger, hoping that the team would be able to hear him.

"Guys, can you hear me?"

Nothing. Not even static.

Fox let out a string of curses in frustration, but he knew his team would know what to do, keep moving forward

And so they did. Several fish like creatures swarmed Fox's ship only for him to shrug them off with a barrel roll,

That's when Fox and co came face to face with the Meteor Crusher once again. The Crusher was leisurely floating through space like a pleasure vessel when Fox fired at the armor. He knew it wouldn't do any damage, but he'd at least get the pilot's attention.

"You want to fight me? You novices can fight me…if you make it past the warp!" the monkey cackled, zooming out further into space.

Then Fox understood. Whatever dimension they were in, this was The Crusher's playground, a place he occupied for longer than two flights. Whoever the pilot was, he was experienced not only here, but as a pilot in general. They weren't dealing with a common criminal anymore.

A garbled transmission from Slippy sounded off just as multi-colored rocks came into view. As he barrell-rolled and zipped past the rocks, he saw a yellow tube-like ship almost copying his movements exactly

_Hello? Can anyone hear me?_ a voice in Fox's head asked

_Erm…I can. _Fox thought, unsure of what to think

_Dear Krazoa, a Cornerian Fleet? I never thought I'd get this bloody desperate._

_So um….what's your name?_

_If you have to know, my name's Krystal. May I know my killer's name? _The voice snarled, stinging with hate.

Fox shook his head, figuring the woman was delirious

_Fox McCloud. See that giant white ship? If you want out of this hellhole, dock in the hangar._

He didn't know how, but he could feel this Krystal nodding.

The voice could be heard again, but this time, seemed to be musing to itself rather than communicating to him.

_What on Cernia could that high-pitched toad mean by "wacked out on drugs?" That's what he was trying to tell his band earlier._

Fox snorted, trying to keep from laughing

_Yep, that's classic Slippy. You might want to get back to the ship now. Who knows what'll hit us out here?_

_Who said you could order me around you…?_

She was interrupted when The Crusher reappeared, just as the impending battle floated into another sea of rocks "Great, new bugs to zap!" The moevinkey laughed shooting at Krystal.

To his surprise, Krystal barrel rolled and summersaulted to avoid the onslaught coming from the shield-like device which protected what Fox assumed was an exposed core,

_Who in Creator's name could she be? First she's talking inside my mind and then flying like a Cornerian soldier…._

"This is Peppy, somebody come in!" Peppy's face appeared over the HUD.

"We are all here Peppy." Akeem reassured the old man.

"Communications….progressively….better….almost….end the gate." said Slippy through a choppy transmission.

"Hmmm, it seems you're much more competent than I thought. Enough with this shield, it's time to turn up the juice."

With that, the shield detached, floating into space Just then an electric blast erupted from a yellow diamond in the middle, what the shield had been protecting. Fay zipped to the right and easily took the diamond out. The ship flipped over and a ray of pink came out of the two cannons. Fox shot one of the two yellow squares on the two halfs and the square exploded. The ship rattled and exploded without a word. Everything was still fuzzy around, "So everybody's…fine?" Fox asked, really disoriented from the experience

Everybody shouted their positive replies, "Guys, I see the end of the gate." Fox announced

"Where in the hell were we anyway?" Piers asked

"Does it matter?" Wisp snapped, "I'm just glad to be out."

With a resounding woosh, the Great Fox and all 12 Arwing's jetted through, Krystal's ship safely on the Great Fox.


	8. Chapter 7: Assumptions

Chapter 7

Assumptions

Fox McCloud aggressively banged his head on to the console as he saw the sight before him, the planet Katina, "Damn, we're right back where we started!" Falco yelled

"'Tis a shame, I wanted to be closer to Venom." Piers chuckled

"Damn it, this through us off track" Bill yelled

_N-no! You are from Corneria…you… _Krystal's voice babbled in his mind.

_What is it Krystal?_

_Venom…Cernia_

Fox waited for more, but nothing came. Then Slippy's face came over the HUD, "You guys, I'm picking up energy readings from Solar….they're off the charts!" Slippy yelled,

"Is that….is that even something that concerns us?" asked a confused Katt

"Regardless, I'm glad Slippy noticed. Pepper would probably like to know something about it." reasoned Peppy

"Shall I inform General Pepper of this new finding?"

"Sure ROB. Get back to the Great Fox, you all deserve a rest"

They all docked into the hangar. Immediately, Fox ran over to Krystal's ship. The cockpit slid open and the blue fox clad in a bikini slid out with a gracefully landing, "Angry and beautiful huh?" Fox said, "Listen…"

" No, you listen, your perversions will not stand…" Krystal began in a dark tone but was interrupted by Falco's laughter, which caused Krystal to shoot a death glare at the avian.

"I know you're ogling me you oaf. I also know that you're imagining us having intercourse. I suppose that makes you just as disgusting as the rest of your kind."

"So I guess she's a telepath or whatever huh? Great, no more privacy on this bird." Falco laughed

"Oh, you'll lose much more than 'privacy' my friends. I know everything about all of you, and I could easily take all of you out if I wanted to." Krystal explained, Fox noticing her strange accent (A British accent to a human)

"Listen, I don't get your hostility, but that's not how things work on this ship, so get off your soapbox. Whatever power you carried wherever you're from doesn't apply here, so the only option you have is to fall in line while we arrange to have you sent to Corneria for questioning. If you don't do as we say, we could easily make your experience here very very ugly." Bill said, seething with an annoyed anger, as Wisp nodded in approval

"Wait a minute, hold everything. We could work things out here."

"Is that some attempt at Lylatian humor? You must be joking." hissed Krystal

"No, we seriously could use someone like you on our team, so if you cooperate, things will be a lot easier on you."

"Are you seriously asking The Last of the Cernians to join a filthy Cornerian band of headhunters? Don't count on it bucko!" Krystal snapped walking away in a huff

Katt walked up to him, hands on hips, "Now look what you've done. You've made the blue girl mad." Katt said, "You'll never get her that way."

"Damn, somebody better mail that bitch a wench of the year award." Piers said nearly doubling over in laughter if it weren't for Falco's support

"Listen to yourselves! Your ancestors would be ashamed of how you treat women."

"Actually, people back in the day were just as sexist as we are, if not more." Slippy inputed  
"Not helping my point Slip." Peppy growled through gritted teeth

Falco picked up on this first and walked away. Piers just sighed as he too walked away.

"AT LEAST THERE AIN'T NO GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE ARMY!" Wisp shouted

"It'd be a zoo if there was." Bill admitted,

"Actually, there is. A lot of women are confined to secretarial positions. Statistics show that…." Slippy began

However, that all was cut short when Fox let forth an annoyed, almost feral sounding growl, "Slippy, shut up."

Slippy's eyes widened to an even larger size than normal. Peppy started to speak, probably intent on lecturing everyone, but Fox held up a hand, "Listen you guys, now isn't time for fun and games. We've got an alien hostile aboard the ship. If you guys shut your traps for a second, I can try to work things out with her."

"Fox, you said it yourself, she's a hostile." said Peppy

"That's really the only option we have though, unless one of you wants to jettison her in her own pod, or want to go toe to toe with someone who knows your next move before you do, be my damned guest, because like I said, those are the only options we have until we can get some Cornerian MPs to take her back."

Silence befell the room until Peppy spoke, "If that's what you feel is best, then do it."

"Okay then, everyone is dismissed except for Peppy, he and I need to talk."

There was a moment of chilling awkward silence before the team dispersed, leaving only Peppy and Fox, "Peppy, She kept mentioning Cernia…"

Peppy's ears perked up, " As in…she's from there?"

"From what I could gather, yes."  
"So that makes the legends true."

"Legends?"

"Do you know much about Cernia?"

"Not a lot I'm afraid. A lot of what Andross found on Cernia was kept top secret from what I understand."

"Long ago, its people had peace with the Lylatians, all thanks to my grandfather, Allistar Hare, who actually took the time to learn the language and represent Cernia in negotiations with the Lylat Order, which was in its infancy mind you. Decades later, a young Andross managed to convince the Order to send him on an expedition ot the planet for one of his first government-sanctioned experiments. He seemed to be pretty excited to run some tests on Cernia. He befriended the Cernian leaders, and things were good. However, that all went to hell when Andross recruited several renegade soldiers to lay waste to Cernia. Andross even had the balls to be on _The Instigator_ when the first shot was fired, not even trying to hide his involvement. By the time Andross had used all the stolen Cornerian resources, Cernia was a radioactive wasteland "

"That's how Andross built his entire empire, weapons and tech smuggling"

Peppy nodded, "Obviously Andross was traced as the source of all the chaos pretty easy, then we all found out he was just a madman willing to kill the Lylat system from the inside. That's when The Order exiled him to Venom. The Cornerian dubbed the planet Venom after that, as there was no Cernians to object, but rumor had it that some Cernians had escaped the carnage in secret, and Andross was still hunting for whatever he was looking for, as nuking the planet didn't uncover anything."

Fox nodded, finally understanding, "Creator….so this woman's former homeland is now a nuclear wasteland where we deposit our criminals, and above the corpses of her loved ones no less? "

"I'm afraid so."

"I'd better go find Krystal." he explained jogging off in Krystal's direction.

It didn't take long to find Krystal looking out the large window of The Great Fox, "Hey." Fox whispered sheepishly

Krystal spun on her heel, striking a strange stance Fox had never seen before. Her left arm was fully extended behind her, while her right arm was extended fully in front of her, mere inches away from Fox's chest , "Don't you dare touch me! If you want to kill The Last of the Cernians, you're going to have to fight me for it! And if you do, let me warn you that that's the dumbest thing you could do all day, I know exactly where to strike the heart to make it explode inside of your chest. Or, I could make everything much more painful by attacking your other pressure points."

"Kill you?" Fox shuddered at the thought of being systematically destroyed, "That isn't our style."

" You seem to be smarter than the average Lylatian, I see you were intent on taking the civil route before you came in here."

"Not all Lylatian's are violent."

Krystal snarled, "Really?" she growled, her voice burning with sarcasm, " That isn't how it looks from my end. Need I remind you that my entire race was killed by your people?"

"I…" Fox blushed slightly with embarrassment, not knowing how to phrase his next point, "Nobody on the team is responsible for that, nor do we think that was appropriate action, it was Andross, the man we're opposing who…"

"Andross? That name sounds…HIM! He was the one that launched the first bombing attack on his flagship _The Instigator _"

"In fact, we have a descendant of Allistar Hare on board."

"The Man from the Sky? Our elders always told us about him. So many nights around the fire, so many…"

Without thinking, Krystal broke her stance, flinging herself into Fox's arms, desperate for something to hold as she sobbed. Fox embraced her softly as she sobbed, instantly feeling her warm embrace and deciding he liked it. Unfortunately for him, Krystal's started to squirm and needlessly adjust her position, as if she were trying her absolute hardest _not _to accept his warm grasp. Although this disappointed the young vulpine, it wouldn't deter him from helping her out.

"Like I said, we're opposing Andross and..."

Krystal snorted, "But only for a bounty I suppose?" she hissed

"Absolutely not…." Fox started, but she interrupted

"How do I know you and your band won't just side with Andross if he pays you more, or, if your countrymen lose?"

Fox almost snapped in frustration at the comment, but he suddenly felt a sense of calm wash over him, as he formulated a plan, "Look, you're a telepath right?"

Krystal's forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Yes…why?"

"Read my mind." Fox said flatly

"W-what? No one has ever invited me to peak into their mind, in my culture, it's considered rude…"

"Do it. A wise man once told me, 'Trust your instincts'. Now, my instincts are telling me that running my mouth about my intentions won't convince you of anything, so please, tap into my brain."

Krystal nodded. To her, this man gave of a very positive energy, but even so, she was frightened. What if it was all a façade? What if this man was telepathic himself, and only willing to fight her….

_But then, what if he isn't?_ Krystal thought

Krystal shut her eyes, and concentrated on the young man's brain waves. She picked up a name, Fox McCloud, but she knew that already.. Along with it came the most basic information about Fox, age, place of birth, height, weight, occupation et cetera. Although she had been able to pick up the Lylatian language from the other people on board, a flood of words with seemingly no connection other than the language itself bombarded her. As if she were pushing through thick brush in a jungle, she shoved those thoughts away, as it was all redundant to her. Then, more names, the names of the crew of the ship and what they meant to Fox. Then, details about their mission, which hit her like a freight train. She was overwhelmed with some of Fox's personality traits, a strong sense of patriotism, compassion for others, all the emotions flooding through his mind as it pertained to the mission. She had pryed far enough. However, she could feel negative energy within Fox's conciousness, like heat eminating from an oven. Fearing that Fox was a liar, she decided to investigate. More names.

James McCloud

Vixy R McCloud

Then, voices

_I'm afraid he isn't coming home_

_Fox, we'll find who killed your mother._

Then, the name Andross punched its way through the energy, almost kicking Krystal out of Fox's mind. Krystal heard a disembodied, far away voice, a voice she recognized as Andross', spewing some sort of outdated propoganda.. Then, she felt her body ease, as she shifted from fighting the stormy currents of anger, to relaxing in Fox's melancoly psyche. The name Fara Phoenix was thrown around a lot, and with it came mixtures of sadness and happiness. Then, out of nowhere, like an attack from behind, a name through itself at her.

Wolf O'Donnell

Krystal finally was pushed out of Fox's subconcious, gasping for breath, slowly regaining her composure. Once again, Fox had wrapped her in his arms. The emotions she had felt before, all subsided, all replaced with something that felt like a mixture of bliss and concern

"Are you OK?" Fox asked, concern evident in his voice

"Yes. I'm sorry for accusing you of murderous intentions, I now see you and your crew are goodhearted people."

"Well good" was all Fox could say

There was an awkward pause, both vulpines enjoying the presence of the other. Krystal was the first to speak, "Oh, and Fox?"

"Hmmmm?" Fox asked

"I'm joining your team."

"Good."

"But…"

"But what?"  
"You aren't exactly oozing professionalism right now Mister I-Hug-my-Co-Workers."

Fox snapped out of his dream like state, pulling away, "Oh crap!" he yelled, obviously humiliated.

"It's alright, I was rather…" Krystal said, running a hand across Fox's cheek, "….Enjoying it."

Krystal laughed to herself as Fox blushed. Normally, she was not a devious woman, but Fox McCloud was entirely too much fun to mess with.

Just as Fox began to stutter like a fool, ROB's voice blared over the intercom, "Incoming message from General Pepper."

They all assembled in the main room as Pepper's face appeared on the hologram, "Star Fox Team, while I thank you for bringing the bizzare flares on Solar to my attention, they aren't of your concern. However, I do have a rather urgent request of you. The forces patroling Sector Y are being destroyed! You must hurry!" Pepper screamed, the transmission cutting away.

"ROB, how much time till we reach Sector Y?"

"Approximately one hour Star Fox." ROB informed the group.

Fox looked over at Krystal, who had a small smile on her face, "So, are you going to teach me how to use the ship of yours?" she asked

"Oh, the Arwing? Of course, just follow me to the hangars."

"No the Landmaster." Falco said sarcastically before whispering, "Dumb ass."

Fox smirked as he and Krystal walked to the hangars. Eventually, they were standing in front of Peppy's Arwing.

"Okay, the horseshoe shape thingie is the steering wheel." Fox explained

"Yes."

"…and the yellow and red buttons are for lasers and bombs."

"Okay."

"The Footpedal is for the brakes."

"Got it."

_Wow, what a fast learner _Fox thought as he went on, "The yellow button is the launch button and the stick is for barrell-rolling."

Krystal smirked knowingly. Krystal had known how to pilot an Arwing ever since she read Fox's mind, but truthfully, she just enjoyed hearing Fox's kind voice.

_And now, for the final trick…._

"That's it?" Krystal asked.

"Oh, see that toggle switch?" Fox asked, pointing to it.

"Toggle switch?" Krystal confusedly asked with a small grin.

Fox leant into the ship, "That one." the vulpine grunted slightly, tapping the toggle.

Krystal went to lean in as well, but when she did, she "lost her balance," landing right on Fox's back…leaving them in an odd-looking position to say the least.

"Oh, THAT toggle switch?" Krystal asked sarcasticaly

"Which one do you think I meant?" the aggrivated vulpine growled

Krystal giggled, causing Fox to chuckle some _He's strong, very strong _the blue fox admitted, blushing a bit.

That's when Bill walked in, "Woah! I always knew you were a ladies man McCloud, but damn, that was quick!" he said, covering his eyes with his left paw and sidestepping out of the room.

"Just out of curiosity, did he think we were…?" Fox asked silently

Krystal and Fox broke away, Fox taking a tumble as he did so. With a polite smile, Krystal grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up. Krystal immediately took notice to his tender grasp, making her blush even more. Suddenly, ROB's voice blared over the intercom, "Come to main room for mission breifing!"

Fox smacked his forehead, "I forgot all about it!" he whined

Krystal gave him a wink which reassured him as he went into the main room, "Pardon the tardy team."  
A few grunts of forgiveness were heard, including a snide remark from Falco which Fox tuned out out of habit.

"Okay." Fox began, the projector zooming on Sector Y, "We know that there are three main flagships in the area, _The Instigator, The Kitana, _and _The Constable_. Now, _The Instigator _is known for its massive arsenal of weapons, _The Kitana is _known for being one of Venom's fastest flagships and _The Constable _is unanimous with Shogun, the mass murderer."

Miyu and Fay gasped at this while Krystal's paws clenched.

"With this in mind, I say we spit up into teams. Slippy, Krystal, and I will hit _The Instigator_. Akeem, lead Wisp, Bill, Piers and Katt to _The Constable _and Falco takes Miyu, and Fay to _The Kitana _

"Looks like I'll be at your side hun." Fay giggled towards Miyu

"Looks like." Miyu sighed, not sharing the same tone

"Just don't turn into Miss Encyclopedia again girl."

Falco opened his mouth to retort, but Krystal interrupted, "Miyu recites facts when she is nervous, it's a nervous tick if you will. Fay has nicknamed this side of Miyu's personality, 'Miss Encyclopedia.'"

"Thank you for clearing that up Krystal, Now guys, we're entering Sector Y. Prepare for launch!"


	9. Chapter 8: Star Fox the Calvary

Chapter 8

Star Fox the Calvary

The 12 pilots went into their ships and jetted off.

The flagship _The Chrome _was being hammered. Eventually, after shooting down one monkey in a combat suit, the flagship exploded. The monkey quickly looked around and saw the twelve Arwings. He took a shot at them, but the Arwing barrel-rolled, deflecting the laser blast, "Star Fox Team alert." he wimpered jetting away.

"Damn it, we were too late." Slippy groaned

"No, not entirely, I can hear multiple people's thoughts, they appear to be friendlies." Krystal informed the group

"Fox, use your regular radio, it's likely that the holographic displays in the ships are down." Peppy insisted from within the Great Fox

Fox McCloud looked on in horror, "Cornerian forces, do you read?" Fox asked into his radio, still angry that he couldn't save _The Chrome _

"We hear you Star Fox Team over." the radio blared

"What is your condition over?" Fox said into the radio

"This damned EMP has knocked out all of our regular systems, but thank the Creator above the emergency systems kicked on over." the commander blared

"What a crappy EMP rocket. You guys are lucky that…"

" Ending transmission" Fox switched off the radio before Slippy could talk their ears off and the HUD shots of his team appeared, "Okay you guys, let's back up the squadron, and let's do it as quickly as possible!" Fox yelled, followed by hoots of approval from his team.

"Somebody's gonna have to take some serious heat for all this." Falco explained as he shot down several drones.

The monkey in the green combat suit from earlier appeared. Fox shot at it but it was barely pushed back.

"Lock on. One shot should clear it." Peppy explained

Fox did as he was told. The soldier was blown back on his back. He squirmed unable to restabilize his himself, until his body gave up and floated into space.

After a few more repetitions of this, they came to an old beaten flagship, and something from the darkness was shooting at them, "I don't see anything!" Slippy whined.

"Is that why you're such a shitty pilot Toady?" Wisp yelled

Falco locked on and shot the blue power suit as the rest of the tram cleared the rest of the ships swarming the flagship.

"At least Delinquent over here can fly." Wisp mumbled

After killing a few cowards who tried to run away, they came to another disabled Cornerian flagship. A few seconds later, the ship was bombarded by something, "Surprise attack coming from above!" Peppy yelled

"Can anyone ID what exactly it is?"

"According to the thoughts I'm hearing, the three flagships we're looking for are combining their efforts against us. Master tacticians Venomians are not." Krystal smirked

"My camera drones confirm Krystal's theory. What I'm seeing matches their description exactly. _The Kitana _is sandwhiched in between the other two

"Okay guys, spread out and take it to 'em!" Fox commanded .

Krystal growled, "You bastards! This is for CERNIA!" firing a Nova Bomb engulfing the front of _The Instigator _in flames.

Cheet A. Smith sat in the captain's chair of _The Instigator _.

A monkey staggered to his superior, "Commander, the front of the ship is on fire!" he cried

"Well, don't just stand there, WE FIGHT TILL THE END!" he roared, the monkey saluting and running away. He pressed a button causing a screen to come down from the wall. A pheonix and a monkey with an orange bandana came on the split image, "We're under attack, we need to retreat, and lose these mercs in the scrap metal."

"Mobilize the mechs!" the pheonix ordered to someone off camera.

"Just 'cause you've got the higher ups under your talon doesn't mean you can just order us around little miss Stephanie. THAT'S MY JOB! And besides, we aren't supposed to fire the mechs until we're completely out of other solutions to our pest problem" the monkey complained.

Stephanie Phoenix scoffed, running her talon through her perfectly combed feathers, " Alright, if you must follow the rules let's spread out. Being scrunched together doesn't exactly make their jobs hard Shogun." she suggested, cutting off her video link.

"Bitch." Shogun snarled, cutting off his own feed.

"Guys, what about….me?" Cheet trailed off

Fox McCloud meanwhile, was amazed at Krystal's anger towards _The Instigator_. Although the ship was trying despirately to crawl away, it could not avoid the hellstorm of Nova Bombs and laser shots that Krystal brought down upon it, "Calm down Krystal!" he ordered

Her HUD shot appeared and revealed a sight that made Fox yelp. Krystal was seething with anger, a red light flashing just below her face, meaning that the lasers were over heated

Her eyes closed, and she breifly meditated, "Well, our mission is complete, what do you want to do?" Krystal asked

Fox's eyes widened in horror at Krystal's earlier display, "I'm not sending you after another flagship if you're going to abuse your Arwing like that."

"What about you? Shouldn't you be out there with your teammates?"

"I think they've got it under control, and we'll waltz in if they need us. Till then, you can try to calm yourself, you need all your wits about you."

Falco, Miyu, and Fay were barely able to keep up with _The Kitana_.

"How do you stop this thing?" Fay whined.

Falco did his best to survey the ship, even if only for a brief time period, "See these discs, the ones that stick out of the sides? Try those."

Fay jetted outward, doing her best to keep up with the giant ship. All of the sudden, a laser blast erupted from the left side of the ship, causing the dog to be thrown around in her cockpit despite her G-Diffuser. Miyu let out a growl in retaliation. Just as Miyu was to do more, the ship jetted off, "I think….I think if we take out all those discs, that'll disable the thrusters." Fay explained to her comrades.

Just then, a huge clutter of long dead flagships closed in, "You two look around this trash heap while I go around it and hunt for AMBUSHES!" Falco shouted,

"Are you sure you've got it under control Falco?" Miyu asked

"Damn sure. I grew up on the street, mindlessly running into fights is what I do." Falco said with a joking wink as he flew below the wreckage

Fay nodded, flying into the abyss. For the exception of a few lone droids, there was no offense on the enemy's part, "This is it?" Fay sighed destroying three ships with one locked on blaster shot.

"MY GOOSE IS COOKED!" Falco's voice yelled over the HUD.

As if on cue, Falco came tearing into the mess with a dozen automated ships tailing him. Miyu shrugged and the two friends rushed to help their partner.

"Well hey, you found the ambush you were looking for right?" Miyu giggled

"What else were you expecting? When I say I'm gonna do something, I do it." Falco said as the three pressed onward, seemingly on the trail of _The Kitana _

Fay Spaniel could've sworn she saw a green blur tare past her…

Meanwhile, the remaining team members had just found _The Constable_ amidst a large spaceship graveyard. Katt let out a confused meow, noticing the ship's leisurely pace.

To further confuse the matter, the giant rear thrusters turned off, "This is gonna be a piece of cake. He's trying to blend in with the junk, but he doesn't notice we're right behind him." Bill confidently boasted

Just as he said this, six ships jetted out of each thruster.

"What in Lylat…?" Bill trailed off, at a loss for words

"How in the…? Never before have I seen something like this." Akeem admitted as Wisp and Piers swooped in taking out their aggressors with a nova bomb.

Just then, drones started to appear on the underside and on top of the flagship, "Piers, you come on top with me. The rest of you take everything below." Akeem ordered his makeshift squadron.

Just then, two more hangar doors opened, one on the top of _The Constable _one on the bottom

"Whelp, good luck everybody! YAHOOOOOO!" Piers whooped as he flew into the fray alongside Akeem

As everyone took their assigned positions, Piers opened up a private channel with Akeem, "What's your hostility mate?" Piers asked taking down five ships with a charged shot.

"Excuse me?" asked Akeem, thrown off guard by Piers' calm manner

"I mean, what, just because I'm a pirate doesn't mean I can be a good guy?" Piers wondered

Akeem grunted as he shot down a few more droids.

"Oh come on matie. No need to dodge my questions. I'm simply a pirate because I like the money, not cause I mean to cause anybody harm.."

Akeem scoffed, shooting down the last two droids, "Aren't they all?"

"No, you have mistaken my answer. I'm a pirate because I prefer to fight for justice in my own manner." Piers explained

"You have not earned my trust yet _matey _." Akeem growled, harshly mocking the swashbuckler as he dropped down to take on the rest of the enemy

Piers just shrugged, _ Well well well, , somebody doesn't like vigilantism . _Piers thought this with another shrug as he followed him.

As the group met up again, a familiar voice was heard, "All units report."

"I'm okay Fox." Krystal giggled

"Half my shield is gone." Falco said bluntly with embarrassment.

"Slippy is OK!" the frog squeaked

"I-I…" Miyu stuttered

"I think she means she's okay and so am I." Fay explained with a grin

"Purrfect on this end McCloud." Katt cooed

"I am OK." Akeem growled

"Good ole Sarg is ready to GO GO GO!" Wisp shouted

"Couldn't have said it better myself teach." Bill laughed

"Okay, we know _The Instigator _is gone, but what about the other two?"

"_The Kitana_'s damage is moderate." Falco explained

"_The Constable _ran before we could scratch it!" Wisp yelled, pointing to the slow moving flag ship.

"You guys, I'm detecting two Space Mech's up ahead!" Slippy warned

"Finally, something different." Falco growled

"Be careful! ROB's just informed me that they escaped from the flagships!" Peppy explained, "They could be the captains, you never know." he finished his lecture.

"Finally, the higher-ups decide to their own work for a change." Piers laughed, being the first two catch sight of the two mechs and jetting off.

"Arwings, all range mode." Fox commanded as the wings spread out.

"Krystal, draw their fire from me!" Falco ordered the young woman

"Okay, lazy bum." Krystal smirked before flying at at the green mech, which happened to belong to Cheet

"Haha! I guess you're reading my now ain'tcha?" Katt teased

"GAH! Don't be partypoopers!" Cheet yelled, firing back at Krystal.

Falco then snuck in from behind and shot the mech's thrusters, causing them to pop off and flying into the mech destroying it, "What's taking you guys so long?" Falco demanded

"She's just…too darned…good." Wisp responded in an exausted tone

"Why thank you!" Stephanie giggled girlishly, "I am after all, the best pilot that there is!" she said with a chuckle

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Fox McCloud…" he began shooting off the arm, "The greatest pilot there is!" Fox finished

Piers then responded by shooting a Nova Bomb at the arm, engulfing everything but the main body in flames, "DETATCH!" Stephanie squeaked as the body detached from the other parts, flying into _The Kitana _and the doors closing to the hangar just as Akeem was about to intervene.

"Forgive my 'friend' Stephanie. She's a little bit of a chicken." said a new voice.

"I'm a PHOENIX dammit! And like my ancestors, I shall rise from the ashes." Stephanie yelled, _The Kitana _zooming away.

A silver Space Mech with a shield zoomed into view, _The Constable _slumping behind him. Falco zoomed up to attack Shogun, but was forced to veer away from Shogun's laser blasts.

"What's wrong? Is that it?" Shogun taunted

Wisp flew in from the left but Shogun turned around and nearly shot Wisp if it weren't for Fay's attempt to shoot the thrusters, "Just give up now! You can't win!"

Wisp regained his composure and shot at the chest but Shogun blocked it with a shield. Fay, in a daring attempt to win the battle, went in between the shield and the chest and shot at the chest. Piers shot at the shield and the weapon broke off, and Fay pulled down, allowing Fox to come in and take a few more shots before Shogun desperately pulled away, "I'll attack you guys from the ship." Shogun thought allowed

"Yeah, sure bro, giving away your strategy over a public frequency is a GREAT idea!" Falco shouted sarcastically

He redocked on _The Constable_, only for Piers to shoot a Nova Bomb. The ape could only scream as mech was launched partially in the air, the flaming mech landing on the ship and, exploding destroying the starboard side of _The Constable. _

"You guys, report in." Fox ordered, somewhat angry.

"Slippy is A-OK."

"Krystal here. The lasers are overheated but I am unharmed."

"My shield's almost half gone." Falco whispered

"Piers here and this ship's still mine matie!"

"I haven't felt this good in years!" Wisp howled

"You and me both Wisp." Bill added

"Miyu here, just a little scared by okay."

"Fay here, feelin' good."  
Fox nodded, and the group headed out to The Great Fox


	10. Chapter 9: Holding you Tight

Chapter 9

Holding you tight

Fox McCloud pounded his fist into the console as he hopped out. His first minor failure hadn't come easy to him. Fox swiftly dodged Miyu, who had jumped into Fay's arms, "You…never…leave…me…again!" she yelled in between huffs, kissing her cheek.

Fay's cheeks had turned pink, "I love you Miyu."

"The feeling is…mutual girl."

Miyu stood once again, taking her best friend by the hand,

"Oh….oh my…" Slippy stuttered

"What are you gawking at?"

The new voice belonged to Krystal, who stood next to Fox now, "Lesbianism existed in my people's culture as well, but I'm glad to see it is more openly accepted here."

"The world, needs love, sweet love…" Bill started to sing but was cut off by Fox.

"Bill, just stop it. Don't act like you've never seen two chicks together, because your "treasure chest" under out Academy bed proved differently." Fox said jokingly.

"Yo, McCloud, cut the dog some slack, at least he ain't stunned to friggin silence like Toady. It's been completely obvious that those two had a thing for each other."

"Well, forgive me for actually doing work on this ship and not noticing such unimportant things you ass." Slippy said, sounding irritated

"Whatever, let's go Katt." Falco said as his pink furred partner followed him out of the hangar

Krystal meanwhile, changed the subject, " Fox, do you mind taking a walk with me?" she offered made a head motion for him to follow. Fox stepped into the hallway. Krystal gave a sigh, "I feel….I feel like the world has been lifted off my shoulders" Krystal exclaimed, stretching her arms.

"Th-that's good."

"I mean, just to get the hostility off my chest…" her forehead wrinkled, "Speaking of my chest, you're checking me out aren't you?" she teased

Fox blushed madly, knowing the truth, "Yes." He said, hanging his head

"It's perfectly fine, a lot of Lylatian behaviors mirror Cernian behavior, so I'm used to prying eyes."

"That makes me feel like less horrible of a person then."

Krystal giggled, "Fox, your gentlemanly behavior is adorable."

Suddenly, her expression turned serious, "Look, Fox, about when I first came on here….I'm sorry for the way I behaved, and I'd like to thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me stay on the team of course! Again, I'm sorry I yelled at you before, I should have apologized sooner but we got swept up into everything"

"You're nervous I know, around a band of hostiles." Fox said (Krystal giggling some), "Joking aside, you're forgiven. You'd just gotten through a journey through space for…how long?"

"Only three months." Krystal said, "Before Cernia got destroyed…when I was about 11 years of age, my people and I got away on a ship. Then, right around the time I turned 18 my people got attacked and I escaped again. Since my pod's a piece of junk, it took me a couple months to get to the asteroid field and I accidentally went through the warps. Hence when you found me."

"How the hell did you survive in a space pod in the middle of a warp zone? More so, how did the rest of your people survive without making port in Lylat"

"While your people developed technology for war, we developed technology for medicine and survival. An example of this would be a chemical which provides lifeforce to all who breath it. When the right amount of dosage is administered, the average person can live for a long time without real food or water. The large airship we all escaped in could have sustained us for centuries, while the pod, being smaller, would've only kept me alive for a half year."

"That….that's beyond amazing. I truly wish Lylat would have seen what the Cernian had to offer." Fox sighed

"You have no idea how much I wish that as well, and how I wish those simians hadn't inadvertently caused me three months of isolation. For those months, a deep hatred for the Lylatian Order boiled up inside me. It got so awful that I didn't think I could ever get rid of my hatred."

"Yeah," Fox joked, "And you didn't seem intent on letting it go when you came aboard The Great Fox."

Krystal shook her head, not seeing the humor, "No, no I didn't, but something in your team, you in particular, changed me…..made me safe and comfortable…."

"I'm glad I could do it," Fox whispered, "We haven't known each other for long, but as I can see, you're a gem."

Krystal clung on to him with a weak embrace. Fox rubbed her back lovingly before the intercom came on again, "All Star Fox Team personal, to the briefing room, all Star Fox team personal to the briefing room." ROB said

As Fox began to walk away, Krystal heard a thought that disturbed her _Krystal seems to hold a grudge pretty deeply. Note to self: never piss her off_

Krystal opened her mouth, as if to speak, and Fox froze and horror. But, Krystal relented, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and besides, when you hear things about your personality from the outside, it's enlightening."

Fox breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks for being so chill about the mind reading thing."

"It would be an unfair to the rest of you if I wasn't." Krystal said with a knowing nod as they headed to the briefing room lounge.

When the team assembled in the briefing room/lounge, The hologram immediately opened up to reveal General Pepper, "General Pepper here. It's official, the Star Fox Team has proven its worth in the eyes of the Prime Minister, so from here on out, you will receive more leeway than normal. Peppy has been given all of the points of interest for each planet, and so he will largely be giving you orders from here on out. Pepper out." Pepper's hologram saluted as it faded away.

In the hologram's place came a hologram of the Lylat System, with a red blip in near Aquas "Hey Pep," asked Fox, "What's with the red blip?"

"_That _is _The Kitana_! We've been tracking it on radar ever since we left Sector Y."

"How have you managed to track it?" Fox asked

"Miyu's calculations were in fact, correct. The disks that she observed were in fact built into the ship as miniature thruster cores, the point of having multiple thruster cores being to avoid putting your eggs in one basket, so to speak. If _The Kitana _loses just one of its thruster cores, it doesn't become immobile…."

"It just moves much slower." Fox finished

"Correct, and without all the space-junk of Sector Y guarding it, a lone Venomian flagship lumbering through Sector Y/Aquas airspace isn't too hard to spot."

"Aquas appears to be the nearest friendly planet." Akeem observed, "I would imagine it's headed for Andross' small outpost on Aquas Island."

Slippy raised a webbed hand, "If you don't mind me asking, what has Andross built on Aquas?"

"This is Andross' nearest hangar to Corneria, where disabled ships like _The Kitana _go to make their repairs. If this place were to become non-existent, Venomian ships would have to travel as far as Macbeth to make repairs." Pepper explained, "So with that in mind, I would like you to attack Aquas Island, using the Blue Marine to disable the underwater devices that make Aquas Island invisible

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hit it!' Falco exclaimed, as Slippy began to shake with anger.

"I want to hit Aquas as much as Falco does, but the fact of the matter is that we can't just yet. The Aquas Island hangar is now under one of Andross's super cloaking devices. The entire island is now invisible to the human eye because of it. And furthermore, The cloaking device is miles underwater, I don't know if the Blue Marine could handle it."

Slippy slammed his fist into a nearby wall, "Damn it! I'm not going to let these monkey clowns screw up my homeland. Let's get down there and teach 'em not to mess with the Motherwaters."

Piers pumped fist and nodded, but Wisp spoke up, "Didn't you flunkies hear what Pepper just said? It's a cloaking device, there's no way you maggots could find it, and even if you knew the coordinates, you couldn't land there, none of us could."

"Not to mention finding the cloaking devices will also be problematic." Fay spoke up

Peppy put his hand up, "Wisp, you need to learn to let me finish. The generators that power the cloaking devices are on Aquas' ocean floor. That's why we need the submarine."

"Now I see why we got the submarine matie." Piers realized

Pepper cleared his throat "If I can interrupt, there's something you should know about the submarine. The Blue Marine operates with a four man crew, pilot, radar, weapons operation and a parascope operations. I need to know who's going to be part of the crew for my own personal notes."

"I'll go." Fox and Krystal said in unison, causing them to blush

"It'll be good to go back to the sea mate."

"I'll go if Piers goes." Akeem growled

Pepper nodded grinning slightly , "So it's decided! The rest of you, you strike once the cloaking device is disabled. You four, I warn you, you will be treading in enemy waters with no backup. If an Arwing comes within radar distance of the hangar, an AA gun will take it out in one blast. Despite the odds, I have the greatest confidence in all of you. Now, all of you, I want you to be ready to launch when The Great Fox enters Aquas. This means the air support _will not _ launch until the cloaking device have been done away with. Pepper out."

The 12 nodded simultaneously, running out of the lounge, down the stairs to the hangar, jumping into their positions as the Great Foxslithered through Aquas' atmosphere.


	11. Chapter 10: Under the Sea

Chapter 10

Under the sea

The 8 Arwings started from within the hangar, but didn't move. Peppy's voice came on the PA, "We all remember Pepper's orders, so let's get to it. Blue Marine Crew, Creator speed"

With that, the floor underneath The Blue Marine folked out, causing the submarine to flop into the huge ocean that was Aquas.

"BONSAI!" Piers shouted, laughing like a hyper kid in a candy store

Fox sighed as he sat in the front, working to steady the ship on his pilot station, and Krystal's seat was a tall, yellow cyndrical object, the weapons console,

Akeem growled, "Prepare to dive." he yelled from his radar station, the right-most console

"Peppy's voice came over the radio, "Fox, just to review, the Blue Marine handles very similar to the Arwing, it's just slow and sluggish like your average submarine. Also, the Blue Marine is equipped with a live data feed, so we see what's going on on land as soon as you do."

"Okay Pep, thanks for the info. Preparing to submerge."

"WOO HOO!" shouted Piers

"Will you shut up? This isn't a game." Akeem snarled

"Let me have my fun Silver, the sea is home to me, and I wanna enjoy every second of it."

The submarine then submerged. After a few minutes, Fox spoke up, "Okay you guys, nothing so far…HOLY CREATOR!" Fox yelled barrel-rolling, nearly knocking over Piers and Akeem,

"M-Mutant clams!" Krystal quivered, pointing a claw at a clam that had just fired a ball of energy

Piers chuckled, but his fun-loving smile vanished once he saw that Krystal was telling the truth.

"Wow….I never thought that Andross would go this nuts with bioweaponry. The damage to the ecosystem will take years to repair, if not decades…." Slippy said

Krystal butted in, "As much as I respect your love for your homeland, now isn't the time or the place to lament, we have a planet to retake."

The submarine floated into a school of starfish, to which Krystal responded by unloading plasma into most of the group. Fox hastily pulled the ship down so Krystal couldn't shoot down the final starfish, "Creator Krystal, they're just…."

That's when the starfish exploded into a huge ball of fire which was quickly extinguished by the water around them, "…Fish?" Fox squeaked

"What in the name of the Creator…?" Peppy whispered over the radio,

"I'm just as confused as you are." Fox admitted

"Fox, take this thing a little lower." Akeem commanded

Fox hesitated, considering that the submarine was nearly skimming the sand on the ocean floor, but eventually brought himself to do it. Then he saw why Akeem had asked him to do that, Another school of starfish floated aimlessly in their path, the only thing keeping them from going right into the explosion that was to come was a cluster of arch-shaped coral reefs. Fox easily swooped under them, "Captain, we've got bogies comin' in from behind." Piers informed

Fox sighed and began to barrel roll like crazy as Krystal shot out a combo of lasers and torpedos destroying the mutant laser fish that had rocketed in from behind, "Conserve those torpedos Krystal." Fox ordered in the most serious voice he could muster.

"What does this symbol mean?" Krystal asked pointing to the screen.

Fox scoffed and set the sub on autopilot. Quickly, he jumped into the cylnder. Squinting at the screen, he let out a confused grunt, "This can't be right." Fox said, as the ship was rocked by some stray laser blasts.

"Why not?" Krystal asked sweetly, fearing she'd messed something up.

"That's the symbol for infinity."

Piers leaned from his post to get a good look, "I'll be damned…" Piers said

"All the while, conserve your torpedos Krystal, for there might be other forces at work here." Akeem explained, glaring right at Piers.

"Calm down matie. I haven't seen something like this since my last contract. You see, Corneria's had gunpowder lying around for centuries, so they gave it to the Navy so that each submarine can literally manufacture as many torpedoes as it needs automatically . Then they have a heat seeking device so now it's a homing torpedo. Don't you see?"

"Mini-torpedo factories inside the submarine? Unbelievable." Fox said, his eyes wide

Akeem snorted loudly and nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer, "The area you're entering has been measured as…resistance…minimal." ROB explained

Fox looked around. What he saw amazed him. They were the structure of some long lost temple, probably back from when Aquas was a land continent millions of years ago.

"Fox we've got a bogey coming up on us and fast!" Akeem yelled as his console started to beep nervously.

Suddenly, the sub lurched. The four wimpered as screws from the ship's interior landed at their feet, "SHARK!" Krystal squealed, pointing a claw out of the window.

"Wait…OH COOL!" Falco cried, "If it wasn't about to put you clowns six feet under…." Falco paused, snickering at the joke he accidentally made, "That would be the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"As much as I would like to laugh at that," said Piers, "I'm quite….busy."

The shark, its teeth thrashing dove at the ship again. It nearly swated the ship with its tail, but Fox dove, the sub now touching the ocean floor, "Be careful Fox. The Blue Marine isn't as manuverable as the Arwing." Slippy explained

Krystal launched a torpedo at the shark's white underbelly. The shark simply shook the feeling off as Fox dove up again and unleashed laser on the shark's black topside, "Nothing's working!" Krystal whined

"We're taking on water!" Piers cried

"No no no!" Akeem said, slamming on the consol as the radar went blank in a shower of sparks.

Fox then noticed something, a broken pillar was to the shark's right, "Krystal, fire at that broken pillar!" Fox commanded

Krystal shot at the moldy stone on the old pillar. The pillar steadly floated down eventually knocking into the shark, trapping it in between sand and stone.

As they left the temple structures a flock of fish zoomed up to them, which Krystal shot, "Matie, we're coming up on some pretty suspicious rock structures." Piers informed Fox looking at the periscope.

Just then, the "rock structures" floated upwards to reveal that they were orange shrimps with hard metal plates on their heads.

"Lock on Krystal!" Peppy ordered

Krystal locked on destroying most of the mutated shrimp. However, one was actually smart enough to dodge the laser blasts, ramming into the ship, sending both Piers and Akeem on a collision course with the wall knocking them both out in a flash!

"Piers! Akeem! DAMN IT!" Fox cursed, "ROB, give me a resistance level reading NOW! I need to know if Krystal and I can do this on our own"

"Resistance level minimal. Cloaking device generators should be with in line of sight. WARNING WARNING! Main bioweapon detected!" ROB wailed in his monotone voice.

"What, I don't see anything…"

"That's what they want." Krystal growled softly, shooting a torpedo into the supposedly open air, revealing a giant clam blocking the generators.

"F-Fox!" Krystal gutped

"Oh my…" Fox whispered

The clam shell opened partialy, revealing that the clam had one glowing yellow eye rested in between two tube like structures. Fox saw the top half of the shell move. With all his might, Fox pressed the break just as the clam shell clamped down sending a huge wave of air which probably would have torn apart the Blue Marine had Fox not used the breaks.

"We've gotta get the top half off somehow…" Fox thought aloud

"Go for those tubes on the top." Slippy's voice cracked over the radio.

As if it had heard, the clam's tubes shot out three snake like creatures (one per tube) Krystal easily dodged the snakes and shot the tube on the left with a torpedo. It shook nervously before breaking off. The sea creature howled in pain, opening up its clam shell partially, revealing the tubes, "FIRE!" Fox screamed

Krystal fired a torpedo in between the two tubes, which made them turn a rainbow of colors, "Fire a homing torpedo!" Slippy advised

Krystal did so, causing the one on the left to shrivel up. The creature yelped in surprise pain as the lid clamped down again. This apparently wasn't helping matters, because the creature squirmed, causing the snakes that came out of the two remaining top tubes come in at unpredictable directions, which didn't make Krystal's job any easier. She shot a laser, killing one metal snake allowing Fox to dodge the other one easily. Krystal smirked and fired two torpedos at a time, knocking away the two tubes.. Suddenly, the clam's top half started to flop in pain, accidentaly causing it to snap it's other tube, causing the clam's top half to drift away, "Aim from the eye!" Peppy shouted

Krystal shot yet another torpedo, causing into impact the eye. The resulting explosion caused the eye to explode, setting off a chain reaction within the clam…and the cloaking device generators as well.

"Yipee! You did it!"

"Nice going you four." Bill yelled, completely unaware that Piers and Akeem were just now coming to.

"Shall you do the honors Sarge?" Peppy chuckled

"I would be delighted Hare. Soldiers, launch all ships, and give it ALL YOU HAVE!" Sarge boomed

With that, 8 Arwings shot out of the Great Fox's hangar, jetting directly for the newly vunerable Aquas Island base. The base took up about 3/4s of island, built more like a metallic version of an ancient castle than a military base. From what the team could see, three spires (two to the left and right, a middle one towering over the other two) appeared to be landing pads, the biggest spire, obviously housing the biggest landing pad, seemed to be housing the flagship.

"Hey Peppy, you got any ideas?" asked Falco

"None, although I bet Stephanie's in the base somewhere. Slippy, would you give this order for me buddy?"

Slippy beamed with pride, "I'd be honored Pep. Star Fox, OPEN FIRE! FOR AQUAS!"

Stephanie Phoenix was stroking her feathers looking into a mirror admiring her perfect face when the humming that had been heard on Aquas died with a failing whir. Stephanie sat up, "What was that?" she asked timidly

A monkey saluted as he walked up to Phoenix, "M'am , the shield generators went down." he quivered

Phoenix slammed her wing on her chair, "Who are the culprits?" she hissed

"Approximately eight Arwing class Cornerian cruisers m'am." he quivered

"How did we not see them?" she demanded

"They came in too fast, we just now saw them. There isn't any time! We can't mount the defenses..."

"Shut up you maggot! I'm not any happier about this than you are..." Stephanie crowed as the building shook, the metal coming off in huge slabs before her, Just...just let me make a call first."

"For reinforcements commander?"

"No...to see her face..."

She hustled over to a communicator, half. She tapped something in the keypad and the image of a sleeping simian appeared. The simian eyes fluttered open, and she stretched, "Stephanie, my darling, what brings you to contact me…?" she continued but was cut off when a servant handed her a plate.

"Jewel, my love, my time on this world has come to an end. Arwing cruisers have attacked my base and..."

Jewel blinked, "Don't leave me Stephanie. You can't leave me baby" pleaded the teary eyed chimpanze

"I must. It is my duty to Venom. Well, what do you know? My time is here. Goodbye Jewel…I will always love you…" she began but was cut off by several loud explosions and the communication cut off.

Jewel grabbed one of the freshly fluffed pillows and screamed, "You will be avenged…and…and I know the perfect person to do it." She said crying some more.

As the image of Stephanie disappeared, Jewel opened up another line. The face was obscured, but anyone who could hear it knew full well who it was.

"Jewel, word has already reached my office about Stephanie, if there is anything I can do to amend the loss, I shall do it immediately."

Jewel regained her composure, "Yes. Before she died, Jewel said something about Arwing cruisers. Does that name ring a bell Uncle Andross?"

There was a pause on the other end, "No, but I can have a spy look into it. Thank you for passing this information on to me, once you overcome your greed and your lust, you shall make a fine empress of Venom." he growled as the communication cut away.

Even at 500 feet below sea level, Fox McCloud could still see pieces of the small Aquas Island being destroyed. Fox pulled away just in time to see some small fragments falling into the see, "Argh…I'm sorry I missed the fun mate." Piers appologized, clutching his head after Fox told him what happened.

"I am sorry I could not have been a better service to you ." Akeem stated

"Forget it." Fox whispered, pressing a button on the radio, "We are preparing to dock!" Fox yelled into it.

"Finally!" Bill yelled, "I was getting worried."

"I'll take the sky any day." Falco proclaimed

"You'd like the water if you grew up on it." Slippy snapped

"Holy crap, what crawled up your ass?" Falco laughed

"I just did considerable damage to my home, HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL YOU MOTHER FU-"

"Mission…" Miyu began

"COMPLETE!" Fay finished

"Slippy, are you alright? You sounded downright pissed there." Fox said

"I'm okay Fox. I just had to get that off my chest. I do suppose it isn't impossible to rebuild…."

"Let's stop dillydallying and GO!" Wisp ordered

"I'm ready to unleash plasma on those jerks that took over Zoness." Katt hissed

The sub resurfaced and floated into the soaked hangar of The Great Fox. Immediately, Piers shook McCloud's hand, "Good sailing McCloud, for an air junkie." Piers snapped sarcasticaly as a grin spread across his face.

Fox returned the chuckle as Krystal jogged up to him, "You were great." she complemented

"Oh uh…thank you." Fox blushed

Suddenly, Peppy appeared on the bridge, "General Pepper's on the hologram."

Fox ran into the main room with the rest of the team and saluted the General's hologram, "Fox, according to the tabs ROB's been keeping, you're doing pretty damned good. You were exactly what we needed, a team that is able to swoop in quickly, get the job done. For your next mission, I'm going to need you to head back to Katina."

The tean nodded, all except for Peppy, "Dare I ask why?" he asked

"You are going to be embark with the Cornerian Air Force to Zoness. Now, I ask that you go ahead of the Air Force because your job is to clear out the search lights so the rest of the unit can make it through undetected, and destroy the factories that are on the planet."

Katt nearly jumped for joy, "If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to accompany the Cornerian fleet to the factories. I'm sorry Pepper, but right now it's personal. Venom destroyed my home planet, and I'd like to kick their tails for it." Katt hissed

"Granted Monroe."

"Of course SHE gets to go." Falco scoffed at the General's comment

"Oh, like you actually want to go with the Air Force? You just want to glor…" Slippy began before Akeem discreetly stomped on the toad's foot, silencing him.

"I bid you all happy hunting on this mission. The fleet will depart 3 days from when you arrive, so you have time to suck in your reward, time in Imperial City."

There was clamor about this, but Fox hushed them, "Thank you General."

"Think nothing of it McCloud. Pepper…OUT!" Pepper said with a smirk as the hologram disappeared.

There was more clamor about the mini-vacation (all except for Slippy, who hobbled back to his room, tending to his foot.) Everyone was in awe of their impending trip to the city, but Krystal, a foreigner, was in the most amazement, as memories that each team had concerning Imperial City flooded her mind "The great Imperial City eh Bill?" she said to Bill, who seemed to have the most memories of the city.

"Well…yeah but…" Bill chuckled sheepishly

"You are one lucky lady, you get to stay in the greatest city of all time!" Wisp shouted

"That's just the Katinian pride talkin' Wisp. The Cornerian Thunder shut out the Camels in the last soccer match Lylat had before the league disbanded in light of the war…" Peppy began

The two began to argue light-heartedly as ROB set a course for Katina .

(AN: Sorry for the long update wait folks, this thing called life got in my way again….Anyway, Slippy's little outburst is a key part of his personality that will be exposed in later chapters. Also we'll learn more about Jewel in sequels)


End file.
